


The Book of Eternity

by wingboner



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Thor (Movies), Thor (Movies) RPF, Thor - All Media Types, Thor: Tales of Asgard
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, M/M, Male Friendship, Minor Kismesissitude
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2014-03-17
Packaged: 2018-01-09 16:52:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1148495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingboner/pseuds/wingboner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.</p><p>With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Old and the Newests

**» The Book of Eternity**

**Chapter 1:** The Old and the Newests

The Asgardian University grounds were impeccable, to say the least. Perched atop a huge plateau of grassland just outside the city proper, it was a marvel of engineering and art. The most obvious features were the history lecture theatres and labs that floated above the rest of the campus; the large bushy court in the centre, dotted with trees and a small stream, and from which the rest of the university radiated outwards along two main paths that intersected in the middle; and of course the vast array of abstract art pieces littered at seemingly random places throughout the court.  

It was the beginning of a new year, and all the first years were nervously shuffling about and glancing at maps, occasionally gathering the courage to ask for directions. All the first years, that is, except for two.  

The first was a cocky Arts Major with hair like charcoal and a coy smile of a snake. Around his neck was a green bowtie attached to a white collar. It was the only piece of clothing he wore, but it was really all he needed to wear. Not really, he preferred his tailored rags any day. Every single step he took was precise and official, and despite his comparative youth he gave off the sense that he was much, much more sophisticated than anybody else there.  

That’s not to say he was conceited; on the contrary, he was exceedingly coy and sarcastically polite to all who dared speak with him. He directed other first years to their rooms, having already memorised the entire campus guide himself, and helped others feel more at ease in the atmosphere that was so vastly different from the high schools many of them had recently graduated from, himself included.  

His name was Loki, and he was an artist studying theory (painting), history, and, strangely enough, psychology.  

The second person was a golden blonde partier with a sunlit smile that spoke of a thousand parties gone by and a million to come. Covering his eyes were a pair of dark red shades that hid everything and revealed nothing. He walked confidently but carelessly, nodding to a beat that nobody else could hear. Those who approached him received a grin and a fist-bump, those who didn’t could only watch in admiration as he dominated the area around him without even saying a word.  

That’s not to say he was controlling; on the contrary, he was extremely relaxed and easygoing whenever somebody spoke with him. He exchanged passing comments regarding passions and sports with other enthusiasts who spotted his six bands but never stayed for long. A high school dropout, he was here on a music scholarship and knew what he was talking about when it came to defending his pride.  

His name was Thor, and he was a jock studying musical theory (modern), drawing, and, strangely enough, psychology.  

They met for the first time outside of a lecture theatre, brushing shoulders as they left. Neither said a word, and they forgot about each other completely within minutes of it.  

A more lasting impression was made outside a tutorial room as they waited for the tutor to arrive. Twenty three people, including them, were also gathered in somewhat-awkward silence.  

Determined not to simply be part of a crowd, Loki turned to face the person nearest him, which just so happened to be Thor.  

 _“Hello. I am Loki, a pleasure to meet you,”_ he said pleasantly, extending a hand.  

Rather than shake it, the handsome god slugged it and flashed a smile. _“’Sup. Name’s Thor Odinson, you’ve probably heard of me.”_  

Gingerly putting his aching hand back down, Loki shook his head. _“No, I’m afraid I haven’t.”_

 _“Does ‘The Beast’s Slumber’ ring a bell?”_ His eyebrows bounced as if to jog the artist’s memory.  

_“No.”_

_“You need to hit some clubs then, my music guarantees a good time.”_

_“In my experience, ‘hitting some clubs’ is rarely synonymous with positive emotions and experiences.”_

The pretty boy cocked his head curiously. _“Why do you talk like that? It sounds kinda silly.”_

Loki frowned as he replied, _“Talk like what? This is how I normally speak.”_

Snorting back a laugh at his expression, Thor slowly realised he wasn’t being fooled. _“Oh. Wow. So were you born in Asgard or something?”_

 _“No, I was born in Jotunheim. Though thank-you for the compliment.”_ He preened happily at being mistaken for a Asgardian citizen.  

 _“Uh-huh, no worries.”_ Thor realised they clearly had very different opinions on what being from Asgard meant.  

Thankfully, he was rescued by the sudden arrival of their tutor. She was a tall woman with frizzy red hair and green eyes. Each step she took seemed to bounce off the ground, and her smile gleamed non-stop with boundless energy. Every iota of her being screamed ‘Let’s get ready to learn!’  

The people shuffled inside and took their seats at three large tables arranged in an abstract manner. Loki smartly sat next to his new acquaintance and pulled out his notepad and pen, while Thor sighed and dumped his book bag on the desk.  

 _“Alright folks, let’s get the introductions out of the way. My name is Cameron. Yeah, I know, what were my parents thinking?”_ she laughed. Alone. _“Still, it turns out they had some incredible foresight because this is a Psychology course and I’m your tutor! How crazy is that?”_ She laughed again, and still nobody joined in. Not even the slightest bit put off, she continued, _“You’re a quiet bunch, aren’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll soon fix that. Let’s do a bit of a game to get to know each other!”_

Finally, an audience reaction: Everybody groaned at the same time. Loki rolled his eyes at their immaturity and decided to opine on the subject. _“Honestly, what did any of you expect? This is the first week of the course.”_

Cameron shrugged. _“He has a point, you know. This is pretty standard.”_

 _“Doesn’t mean we have to like it,”_ grumbled Thor, to the murmured assent of surrounding people.  

 _“Oh, I’m sure you’ll like it just fine. However,”_ he gestured to Loki and Thor, _“I saw you two talking on the way in, so I’m afraid I’m going to need to move you. There’s no point doing a friend-making activity with somebody who is already your friend, after all.”_  

As the artist started to interject with the fact that they had only just met, Thor quickly flung his bags across to an empty desk on the other side of the room. _“So long, Luke.”_

_“My name is Loki.”_

_“Whatever.”_ The guitarist saundered to his new place.  

Cameron observed the exchange with great interest and a small smile. Shaking her head, she once again brought attention back to herself. _“I want you all to talk to the person next to you and learn as much as you can, then in ten minutes you will introduce them to the class.”_

The activity ended up taking a lot longer than ten minutes as Cameron had too much fun listening to all the different conversations. Finally, she stopped them and began the introductions. Most were fairly accurate, with the main issue being mispronunciation of names.  

 _“This is… um… T-Thor Odisun,”_ a small boy said nervously.  

 _“Odinson! Thor Odinson! Get it right!”_ hollered the future prized musician.  

 _“I’m s-sorry!”_ he squeaked. _“This is Thor Odinson, and he… um… he m-makes rock music and performs in clubs sometimes.”_  

Cameron smiled bright in appreciation. _“Great work Aaron!”_ A general rumble of praise emanated from the class and the anxious person sank down into his chair gratefully.  

_“Now, Loki, how about you introduce your hopeful new friend there?”_

_“As you wish.”_ The pale male stood up straight. _“This is Felicity. She enjoys making various kinds of confectionary treats. She is taking this psychology course to help her learn how to attract more people to her store, such as what colours are more likely to attract attention and whatnot.”_

 _“Excellent job, Loki. Very succinct.”_ The instructor smiled at the praise and sat back down. _“Felicity, would you kindly introduce Loki to us?”_

With dark blue ponytails and pink highlights, Felicity looked like a stereotypical university student, the kind that would be on advertisements explaining the values of pursuing an education. _“This is Loki. He is studying artistic theory and history… and draws….anatomy?”_ she said hopefully.  

_“Boys, actually.”_

_“Oh, sorry.”_

Thor piped up from across the room. _“Hang on, I’m into art classes too and I haven’t seen you at the lecture or the tutes.”_

 _“Why in Asgard are you taking art classes?”_ the refined person replied incredulously.  

_“I really like to draw. Didn’t you hear little mister shy-face over here?”_

_“Being ‘someone who likes to draw’ hardly requires extensive education-“_

_“The fuck did you just say?!”_

The tutor reluctantly stepped in. _“Easy, you two. I know for a fact that there are two artistic theory classes, one classical and the other modern. There’s no need to start arguing. I’m sure you have something in common, considering both of you are artistically oriented.”_

 _“Yeah, we both like music and art – oh whoops! You like anatomy, don’t you Loki? Shame. How does it feel knowing a monkey could be trained to draw figures? I saw it at the circus once.”_ The blonde stuck out his tongue.  

 _“Figures?! All that detail and curves is more akin to a primitive person smearing charcoal all over the page. You have more in common with the monkey than with me, you ape.”_ Clearly offended, the dark-haired person wasn’t going to just take that insult to his art style.  

Thor stood up so quickly that his chair fell over. _“What did you call me, snob?”_

Rising as well, Loki held his ground. _“I called you an ape.”_

_“At least an ape knows how to loosen up, prude!”_

_“Oh yes, you would know all about being loose, little player!”_

A chorus of gasps accompanied the guitarist’s jaw dropping in surprise but he quickly recovered and narrowed his eyes before stepping closer to the long-haired snake. _“All you do is doodle people with a pencil and you call me primitive? I make symphonies with sounds you can’t even comprehend, let alone enjoy!”_

Loki’s face scrunched up into a scowl as he stepped even closer. _“What kind of prince are you? It takes skill to make works of art!”_

Thor also moved towards the target of his anger, violently squashing the absurd urge to laugh that he always got when somebody yelled at him. It had made encounters with his high-school principal tense, to say the least. _“Are you calling me a fake?”_ he said dangerously.  

The sight of the proud manipulative person swallowing before replying was satisfying. Clearly, this prince was still able to intimidate skilfully. _“I’m… not calling you a fake, but I am saying that making your ‘music’ doesn’t take even half the skill that drawing a human does!”_ To make up for lost ground, he took another step forward and brought himself face to face with the furious blonde.  

With his cheeks flushed from shouting and his nose crinkled in distaste, Loki looked more than a bit amusing. Thor opened his mouth to say as much when the tutor finally stepped in again, clearly thinking he was about to go for the throat. _“Alright gentlemen, let’s dial it down a notch. As much as I love having two complete opposites arguing in my class, and believe me, I love it; I feel the need to stop this before it goes too far.”_

Now that the tension was broken, the two males looked around and noticed they had captured the rapt attention of the entire class. Thor chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head as he returned to his seat, while Loki merely adjusted his hair and gracefully re-joined his table.  

Taking back control of her room, Cameron clapped her hands together. _“Right! That was a fantastic demonstration of conflicting personalities. I hope you were all taking notes!”_ The people scrambled to write down anything they could remember. _“This presents a very unique opportunity for our class. Real life studies go a lot further than textbooks, you know.”_  She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, glancing at the clock on the wall. _“Well we don’t have time to get into anything right now, but I have an idea for next week.”_ As people started packing up, she outlined his master plan. _“Loki, I want you and Thor to spend time together on the weekend.”_

 _“What?!”_ they shouted in unison, making the rest of the class crack up.  

 _“You want me to spend time with… him?!”_ exclaimed Loki.  

 _“Yeah, I was planning to have fun on the weekend!”_ Thor added, earning a glare from across the room.  

 _“Because,”_ Cameron explained patiently, _“This is a great opportunity to study how a relationship can change over time, for better or worse. We’ll compare our notes from today with your behaviour on Monday, then draw conclusions and make predictions based on that data. In fact, I may get you two to hang out together rather frequently so we have more data points. This isn’t strictly on the set coursework, but I think it will be a fun little side project.”_  

 _“Take psychology, they said. The teacher’s nice, they said,”_ muttered Thor, violently shoving his notepad into a book bag.  

The tutor chuckled. _“I’m sure it won’t be that bad. Who knows, you might actually find some common ground.”_

 _“I highly doubt that.”_ Loki latched his bag and lifted it onto his back. _“What do you suggest we do then?”_

Cameron shrugged. _“Go to a bar, go watch a movie, walk around town. As long as you’re together it shouldn’t matter.”_

 _“Drinking it is!”_ declared Thor.  

 _“Alcohol will either make you normal or intolerable. I’m willing to take the risk,”_ muttered the artist as he followed the other people out of the room. _“But I choose where we go!”_ he called over his shoulder.  

Thor sighed and followed after him. As they walked into the boiling sun and started climbing the hill back into the main court, he forced himself to walk next to Loki. _“Alright, let’s get one thing clear. I’m gonna give you my number, but under no circumstances are you to text or call me unless it’s about our plans, kapiche?”_ A pen and paper was grabbed from the zipper of his bag and he began scribbling.  

 _“Agreed. The same goes for my number as well.”_ As the trickster tore off some of the paper and slipped it into the musician’s bag. _“Very well. Try not to hand it out to any friends of ill repute by accident.”_

_“Whatever. I’ll call you sometime tomorrow and we’ll go from there, yeah?”_

_“Try to make it at a reasonable hour, would you? Not all of us are used to staying up until four in the morning on a cocktail of alcohol and caffeine.”_

_“Shove it up your ass, Loki.”_

With that, the pair parted ways on the grassy court. The artist to his next class, and the musician to his home.  

They didn’t know it yet, but their lives were already changing, dancing to the tune of conflict, and inexorably approaching something that neither of them had ever dreamed of.  

 


	2. Turning Tides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

**» The Book of Eternity**

**Chapter 2:** Turning Tides

 

_> Yo it’s Thor, how are we gonna do this?_

Loki sighed and reluctantly added the number to his contacts, having forgotten to do so the day before.

_> Pistols at dawn?_

The artist smirked at his own joke.

**{[THOR]}**

_> Name a bar and a time, smartass._

Rolling his eyes, he replied quickly.

_> Midnight’ Tavern, 7 PM_

\---

And so, as the Asgard bell rang for the seventh time, Loki found himself sitting in a corner booth watching the pretty boy he despised approach wearing an equally disgusted expression behind dark red shades.

The sounds of a lively bar wafted around them, but the two males were cold to the happiness of others. Both were expecting nothing more than a few hours of tiring arguments that gradually grew less intelligible as the drinks piled up.

But of course, nothing turns out the way we expect.

 _“So,”_ said Thor as he sat on the opposite side of the booth, putting the table between them. The situation was more than a bit awkward so he defaulted to his typical conversation starter. _“What’s up?”_

 _“Absolutely nothing of concern to you,”_ was the short reply.

Rolling his eyes behind his glasses, the musician grabbed an untouched drink over from a table with a female passed out on it. _“Drink this. Maybe it will help you pull that stick out your ass.”_

Loki shook his head and didn’t touch it. _“I have yet to reach the legal drinking age.”_

_“You’re joking, right? How did you get in here?”_

_“They didn’t ask, I didn’t tell. Besides,”_ he folded his hands, _“You’re not much older than me. We both came to university straight from high school, yes?”_

 _“Actually… I kinda dropped out a year early.”_ Thor seemed oddly reluctant to reveal that information.

 _“That makes sense,”_ smirked the artist.

_“Hey! I didn’t insult you when you refused a drink because you’re underage, which is incredibly lame by the way, so why don’t you try to be less of a snob in return?”_

_“Very well,”_ he conceded. _“How did you get into university if you didn’t complete the last year of high school then? Did Mother pull some strings for you?”_

_“I spent all of last year doing this scholarship program thingy. I don’t regret dropping out, but I knew I had to do something else or I would just become one of those people who waste their lives living off welfare.”_

Loki raised an eyebrow. _“Why drop out in the first place if you knew it could jeopardise your future?”_

Shifting uncomfortably, Thor looked away. _“It was just… stuff, okay? Let’s talk about something else.”_

_“Alright then…”_

_“So isn’t your birthday coming up?”_

_“In a couple of weeks.”_

_“Cool.”_

_“Indeed.”_

An awkward silence arose like a brick wall between them. Musician’s were made to smash awkward silences.

 _“This is such a stupid homework assignment,”_ muttered Thor. To his surprise, Loki giggled in agreement. _“Hey, I didn’t know you could laugh!”_

_“Oh, how funny. I’m not as boring as you seem to think.”_

_“Oh yeah?”_ Thor grinned, _“Prove it. Take the drink.”_

_“I… No, I can’t.”_

_“Go on! Don’t be such a… you!”_

_“Thor, I am not joking around.”_

The musician sighed. _“Of course you aren’t. Fine, be antisocial. See how much I care.”_

Loki gave him a flat look. _“I find it a bit silly that you seem to think I can’t be social without alcohol.”_

 _“In your case? Damn straight.”_ Thor eyed the drink mournfully and put it back over to the other table. He turned back to see Loki looking at him questioningly. _“What?”_

_“Why didn’t you drink it? You’re old enough.”_

_“It’s not fun drinking alone, trust me.”_

_“Don’t abstain on my account. I was hoping your sanity would be linked with your blood alcohol level.”_

_“I’m not that crazy… am I?”_ the pretty boy seemed so surprisingly unguarded that Loki decided to respond truthfully.

 _“No, I suppose you’re not. I admit I made many assumptions about you based on our… rather heated discussion in class. Not many of them were positive.”_ He hesitated for a second before continuing. _“But since we seem to be mending bridges, I must ask… am I truly a boring person? Be honest.”_

 _“Not really, at least not anymore. If nothing else, you’re at least fun to argue with,”_ grinned Thor.

The artist returned it, chuckling a little. _“And what an argument it was.”_

_“That ‘loose’ comeback was brutal, but awesome.”_

_“Thank you. I liked how you used the fact that your music is more technologically advanced to nullify my comment about how primitive it was.”_

_“I have no idea how I did that.”_

The two males laughed, the tension finally broken and replaced by a much more comfortable atmosphere.

 _“Hey, if it’s alright with you, can we pretend we had an awful time tonight?”_ asked Thor, leaning back in his seat to get comfortable.

_“Why?”_

_“I kinda don’t want Cameron to think she was right when she said this wouldn’t be that bad. She just strikes me as the kind to say ‘I told you so’, you know?”_

_“I must agree with you there. Very well, during class we shall bicker as if nothing has changed. Agreed?”_

_“Agreed. And what about outside of class?”_ A faint blush graced Thor’s cheeks. _“Cause I don’t really know anybody else yet and it would be cool to have somebody to chill with.”_

Loki smiled warmly. _“Then I’m glad Cameron isn’t here right now, because that’s another thing we have in common.”_

_“What about all your highschool friends? Didn’t any come to university?”_

It was the prude male’s turn to shift uncomfortably. _“No.”_ was all he said.

_“Oh. That sucks. So do you live on campus?”_

_“Yes, in the student dorms. And yourself?”_

_“Nah, I’ve got a crappy apartment not far from here.”_

_“It must be annoying having to travel to the university every time you have a class.”_

_“Yeah, I’ve only done it for one week and I’m sick of it.”_

_“Well?”_ Loki asked expectantly.

 _“Well what?”_ replied the confused musician.

_“What are you going to do about it?”_

His companion shrugged. _“I dunno. I could try to get a place closer to uni, but I’m pretty sure they’ve all been taken.”_

_“The answer seems obvious to me. Just get a campus flat like I did.”_

Thor scratched his chin. _“You think I should?”_

_“Definitely. In fact, I think if you got in contact with whoever is paying your scholarship they could probably help you find the best option.”_

_“Really? I’ll call ‘em tomorrow.”_ He laughed. _“You give some good advice, Loki.”_

The artist laughed with him. _“It seems reading thousands of university pamphlets has finally paid off.”_

_“You must have been pretty damn excited for it.”_

_“What can I say? I had imagined it for so long. Every single class and person I would meet, all the friends I would have, and how everybody would be nice and respectful because it’s a grown-up environment. Silly stuff like that.”_

_“Nice and respectful, eh? I guess I kinda ruined your first week then, huh.”_

With a chuckle, Loki shook his head. _“Don’t worry, you’ve made up for it already.”_

 _“I have? All we’ve done is sit here and chat.”_ Thor frowned.

 _“Yes, well… I’ll tell you another time. It’s boring anyway.”_ The artist brushed a few strands of dark hair out of his eyes and looked away.

_“I’m seriously doubting my idea of what ‘boring’ means, so why not tell me?”_

_“It’s sort of… personal.”_

_“Oh.”_ A brief pause followed, yet it was understanding rather than awkward. _“It’s alright, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”_

_“No, you should probably hear it. I can’t just say something like that and then not explain.”_

_“You sure?”_

_“Yes.”_ He took a deep breath. _“Before uni, before our class, I was quite… lonely.”_

_“Everybody gets lonely once in a while.”_

_“I don’t think you understand the unprecedented level of loneliness that I was experiencing.”_

_“Okay, okay. So why were you lonely? A male like you must have tons of high-class friends to hang with.”_

Loki reddened and turned his eyes down. _“Not really.”_

 _“Oh.”_ Thor wasn’t sure what to say in the wake of that revelation.

After a few moments, Loki continued quietly. _“I didn’t have tons of friends. Or just a small amount of friends. Or… any friends at all.”_ His eyes remained lowered in embarrassment.

“That’s…” The musician fumbled for the right thing to say.

 _“Yes.”_ Sucking in a deep breath, the lonely male rubbed his face with his hands, as if to scrub away the last few seconds. _“Sorry,”_ he forced a laugh. _“That was completely out of place to say. I wish I hadn’t said anything now.”_

_“No, it’s fine. N-not the ‘no friends’ part, I mean… uh…”_

_“Please, just forget it. Let’s talk about something else.”_

_“Alright...”_ Thor looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. _“Well, you shared something personal, so I should as well. That way you won’t have to worry about me backstabbing you and telling everybody.”_

A small, sincere smile graced the artist’s lips. _“Thank you.”_

 _“You might not be saying that when I’m done.”_ He took a moment to gather his thoughts. _“Okay, this is a little pathetic, but I wasn’t that great at school. I sorta failed… everything. That’s why I took it so badly when you made fun of how I’m a dropout.”_ The pretty boy leaned on the table and rested his chin on her hands. _“I spent every year trying so hard to do well, but I got nowhere. I was like the class idiot in every class. The only thing that kept me going was my music.”_ His eyes were hidden behind tinted glass, but the rest of his body lit up suddenly, bursting with life. _“I couldn’t analyse texts or solve equations, but when I got my first guitar nobody could keep up with me. I was the god of my music class, and every bass chord was my gospel.”_ He grinned and raised his head from the table. _“I played everywhere I could for as long as I could. The other ladies and gentlemen could have their test scores and good grades, all I wanted, all I needed, was my music.”_

Loki held back a chuckle at the musician’s enthusiasm. He too had felt the warmth of music in an otherwise cold world. But he held his tongue, for the story was not over.

 _“But…”_ the smile slipped away from Thor. _“Nobody else thought the same thing. I needed a good report to go on to study music at uni, and that just wasn’t going to happen. At the end of the year, they told me they needed to keep me down a grade because I wasn’t passing anything except music. My only other choice was to drop out and try to find my own way to uni. So I did.”_

Reaching across the table, Loki touched the musician’s hand with his own. _“Thank you for telling me. Considering I’ve been nothing but rude to you since we started class, I’m surprised you feel comfortable talking with me about all of that.”_

_“Like I said, it’s your insurance against me ever telling anybody what you told me. Or… yeah, trust sounds a lot better.”_

_“But my story wasn’t even a story. It was just a sad little fact. You… There is so much more to you than I imagined.”_

His stare was so intense that Thor blushed and looked away. _“Well, er, thanks.”_

The artist realised how he was behaving and retreated to his side of the table, also blushing. _“Please excuse that. I was caught up in your story.”_

_“It’s fine, really. Totally fine.”_

_“Nevertheless, it was inappropriate, and I’m sorry.”_

Thor giggled at that. _“We’re in the corner booth of a bar. This place has seen way worse stuff than just touching hands.”_

 _“What?!”_ The mortified expression worn by Loki as he took a second look at the seats and table made the musician laugh harder.

 _“Relax, this place gets cleaned every night. Probably.”_ Thor liked watching him squirm in discomfort.

 _“Still, I think it’s time for me to head back to the campus. I can’t risk messing up my sleeping pattern.”_ He slipped off the chair and gingerly put his feet on the ground.

 _“Aww,”_ whined the musician before he could think.

The artist gave him an amused smirk. _“I didn’t realise you were enjoying my company so much.”_

_“Let’s pretend I didn’t do that. So I’ll see you on Monday then?”_

_“Definitely.”_ Loki hesitated, biting his lip in contemplation, but did nothing and simply walked away.

Thor watched him go, even going so far as to half-climb onto the table to see the dark male vanish out the door. When it did so, he sunk back down into his chair.

 _“Definitely,”_ he muttered.

 


	3. The Sun Will Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

**» The Book of Eternity**

**Chapter 3:** The Sun Will Rise

 

The dark coldness swept over Thor’s body, but he didn’t feel it. His phone gripped in his hands, wrapped in a haze of white. Red lights blinked in his peripheral vision, burning the late hour into the darkness.

His bed was soft but small, and the apartment was not much larger than it. But the musician’s mind was not on his surroundings.

**{[TO LOKI]}**

_> Hey_

He gritted his teeth at the words, but after a moment he sighed and tapped at the screen.

**[DRAFT DELETED]**

With a groan, he rolled onto his stomach and pressed his face into the pillow. The phone waited patiently until he turned back over for another attempt.

**{[TO LOKI]}**

_> What’s up?_

_“It’s three in the morning, I’m asleep Thor. You’re an idiot,”_ the male mumbled in a poor imitation of Loki’s voice. A finger fumbled for the delete button.

**[MESSAGE SENT]**

His heart jumped with a lance of shock and he bolted upright. _“No no no no no no no,”_ he whispered. _“Not now, not at this time! Damn it!”_

For a few precious seconds, Thor maintained the hope that perhaps Loki didn’t sleep near his phone and thus wouldn’t hear it go off. Sweat trickled down his brow as a minute ticked by. Just before he started to relax, a soft ringing filled the air.

_“Oh shit.”_

**{[INCOMING CALL FROM LOKI]}**

_“Oh, fuck!”_

There was no way out of it; Loki knew Thor was with his phone. He had to answer it. In his sleep-deprived state, the musician considered not answering and leaving town so he never saw the artist again. Saner thoughts prevailed.

Click.

_“Hey,”_ Thor said nervously.

_“Why in Asgard are you texting me at quarter-past-three in the morning?”_ replied an amused yet still very sophisticated voice.

_“Er, I couldn’t sleep.”_

_“So you decided to inflict your misery on me as well?”_

He winced. _“Sorry.”_

_“Don’t worry, I’m joking. As it happens, I cannot get to sleep either.”_

_“Why?”_ Thor rolled over and curled up, a little smile replacing his fearful expression.

_“My brain refuses to stop thinking.”_

_“Yeah, I know the feeling. What are you thinking about?”_

_“Silly things. I shan’t bore you with them lest they send you to sleep.”_

_“Actually, that sounds fantastic.”_ They shared a suppressed giggle. _“Go on, tell me.”_

_“Well… I was actually thinking about you, Thor.”_

His heart beat a little faster. _“Yeah?”_ he asked, hoping his voice didn’t sound hoarse.

_“I… You know what I said in the bar? About… not having friends?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“Well, I was thinking that I was so lucky to be forced to get to know you better. It’s a strange feeling… having…”_ A quiet sniffle from the other side of the line made Thor’s chest hurt. _“I’m sorry, something about being up late at night makes me more… open.”_

_“It’s okay. I understand that, it’s the same with me too,”_ replied the pretty boy comfortingly, followed by an almost inaudible _“Please don’t cry.”_

_“I’m okay, I shouldn’t even be crying because this is a good thing. I suppose what I was trying to say is… thank you.”_

_“Hey, I should thank you too. None of my friends are very close, so it’s nice to know you’re there.”_

Loki giggled. _“I’m not going anywhere, that’s for certain. My degree will take a while.”_

_“Heh, yeah mine too. But we’ll kick ass and take names before we’re done. You and me, got it?”_ He didn’t mean to sound so violent, but the thought of spending more time with him got the sculpted male excited.

_“Absolutely. For life!”_ Loki sounded equally excited.

Groaning, Thor smiled in the darkness. _“That was pretty lame.”_

_“Oh, hush you. I’ve always wanted to say that. Now you say it too so it’s official.”_

After a moment of silence, the male swallowed his pride. _“For life.”_

\---

_“You wouldn’t know how to mix a guitar rift if your life depended on it!”_ screamed Thor.

_“And you wouldn’t be able to sculpt a vase to academic standards with any degree of competence!”_ Loki shot back.

Cameron scratched her chin with interest. _“You know, I really thought you two would be fast friends. Maybe I’m losing my touch.”_ For a moment, the pair felt slightly guilty at making the tutor doubt herself. _“Or maybe you need to hang out a couple more times_!” The guilt vanished quickly.

_“I think that violates my rights as a citizen of Asgard. Namely, the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.”_

Thor made a mental note to compliment that particular insult after class. _“Oh yeah? Well you were so busy talking about yourself at the bar that I could’ve left and you wouldn’t notice!”_ It was an average comeback, and Thor felt his will to continue the charade weakening.

Thankfully, Cameron finally decided to end it herself. _“Alright, settle down you two.”_ A chorus of disappointed groans echoed from the rest of the class, and the exchange of bits implied some sort of gambling had taken place. _“Let’s get back on track. I’ve already gone over your coursework today but we still have half an hour before this class technically ends. So how about we have some suggestions about what our favourite pair does this week?”_

Felicity raised her hand in the air with a smirk. _“How about a candlelit dinner?”_ she giggled with the nervous male beside her, who had a embarrassed grin on his face. Some of the other students also chuckled, apparently aware of a joke Thor couldn’t see.

Loki glared at Felicity, hoping the red in his cheeks would pass as fury. Some might call him a prude, but he knew very well what was being implied.

_“Maybe something a little less likely to end in homicide?”_ Cameron suggested, yet her grin clearly said she was in on the joke too. _“How about a movie? You won’t have to talk to each other much then.”_

Thor was careful not to agree too quickly, instead scowling at the tutor for a few seconds before nodding slowly. _“Whatever. At least in the dark theatre I won’t have to look at his face.”_

_“That’s the spirit! And you, Loki?”_

The artist sighed as if the mere thought of going to a movie with the loud-mouthed prince was exhausting. _“Very well, if you insist on continuing this silly exercise. But Thor has to pay.”_

Snorting back a harsh laugh, the timid boy beside Felicity whispered to his loudly, _“Well it is customary for the man to pay for his woman.”_ There was a moment’s pause before the students erupted into rowdy laughter, hooting and whistling at the beet-red targets of the joke.

For once, Cameron didn’t join them. _“Kody, that was uncalled for. I like a good one-liner as much as anybody, but let’s try and tone it down a bit, okay?”_

_“Sorry Ma’am,”_ he said, snapping off a salute and eliciting more giggles from Felicity.

_“Alright class, make like it’s Friday and wrap it up! I’m sure you all have classes to go to.”_

As they shuffled out into the sunlight, the musician resisted the urge to walk next to Loki too eagerly, managing a sort of irritated trudge that the slender male matched with a more dignified equivalent. Only when they reached the safety of the busy court did they let the acts slip slightly. Their classmates had dispersed to attend to their own lives, and nobody gave the pair a second look.

_“You really gave me a run for my money with that ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ line,” remarked the grinning blonde._

_“Yes, I’m quite proud of that one. I actually thought it up during a history lecture when we were talking about ancient treaties that govern the rules of war.”_ Loki blew a strand of hair out of his eyes and glanced at Thor. The blonde was looking around the court, unaware he was being watched. His sunlight-tinged locks with cyan eyes seemed so unruly that it suited his perfectly, like a mixture of fun and beauty. The artist almost envied him.

_“Y’know, that actually sounds pretty cool. Maybe I should ditch one of my classes and take that instead.”_

_“For every interesting ancient warfare document we study, there are a thousand boring political declarations. You would be bored out of your mind, sweetie.”_

Thor stopped walking and looked at the slim male. _“Sweetie?”_ he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

_“Are we not allowed to do nicknames yet? Sorry, I’m not really good at this.”_ Loki shifted his feet nervously.

_“Uh, well ‘sweetie’ isn’t really a nickname, it’s more of a…”_ He coughed and continued in a lower voice, _“Pet name.”_

_“Oh.”_ The sight of blood rushing quickly into the artist’s cheeks made Thor chuckle.

In an effort to lessen the embarrassment for his friend, he resumed walking normally, gesturing his head to indicate Loki should follow. _“You want me to pretend that didn’t happen?”_

_“Yes please.”_

_“No worries. Besides, nicknames are never just chosen, they’re made. Just call me Thor for now though, okay?”_

_“Okay. So,”_ he cleared his throat to get back on topic, _“Why don’t you leave one of your classes then? Your company might actually make the lectures bearable.”_

_“Well, I don’t really have any I can afford to lose. I mean, musical theory is off the table for obvious reasons, and I really like drawing so far.”_ The absence of his third class only drew more attention to it.

_“Why not drop psychology? I’ve seen you in class when we aren’t arguing and you always look bored.”_

_“Well, because…”_ Thor trailed off mumbling.

_“Pardon?”_

_“Because it gives us a reason to hang out_ ,” he quickly finished, flushing as he looked away to scan the groups of people scattered on the court for any observers.

_“I like spending time with you as well, Thor.”_ A mutual smile passed between them as the musician turned back.

It soon became apparent that each student was trying to lead the other in a different direction.

_“Uh, Loki? Don’t you wanna go to the food court?”_

_“My history tutorial starts in a few minutes… I thought you were walking me there?”_

Thor chuckled. _“Oh yeah, my bad. Where is it again?”_

Sighing, the artist turned and led the way.

\---

There were two main reasons why Thor didn’t hang around after Loki joined his class.

One, it would be awkward as hell if the gentle male looked out the window and saw him waiting.

And two, he totally had his own stuff to take care of. He wasn’t so lonely that he needed to hang around waiting for his friend to finish school. The musician had his own friends and activities to do. Yep.

Half an hour later, his friends and activities stared back up at him from the bottom of a mug. The university bar wasn’t as run-down as his usual bars, but it was definitely showing its age. A plaque above the door helpfully informed his that this was one of the first buildings erected when the university was being built. As amusing as it was to know that one of the priorities when building an educational campus was a place to serve alcohol, it wasn’t enough to distract his from the problem at hand.

_“Come on, Thor. Get it together,”_ he muttered before licking a final droplet of hard vodka from the rim. _“You’ve got plenty of friends to hang out with. Don’t get so attached to one of them.”_

The words rang hollow in his ears. A little voice piped up from the back of his mind.

But he’s so interesting!

_“No he’s not! I’m just bored and he helps me burn time.”_

Is that why I hang on every word he speaks?

_“Leave me alone.”_ Pushing the mug away, he rested his head in his hands on the table.

A snort came from behind his. _“I haven’t even said anything yet,”_ said Cameron, taking the seat beside Thor.

He snapped to attention, looking at the teacher with wide eyes. _“Uh… hey…”_

_“Relax. I’m not here to torture you. I come here for a drink after class sometimes.”_

_“Cool.”_ It felt so awkward talking to a teacher in this setting, like two different areas of his life were colliding.

The tutor sighed and seemed to lose some of her cheer. _“You know I’m just having a bit of fun in class, right? I didn’t realise it bothered you so much that you’d spend the afternoon grumbling into a cup of vodka.”_

_“Huh?” Quickly realising how he must look, the musician sat up straighter and cleared his throat. “I’m not drinking about that... but you should still feel pretty damn bad though.”_

Cameron chuckled and raised her hands defensively. _“Hey, teaching can be pretty boring. I think it’s lucky that you and Loki happened to take the same class. No matter how much crappy paperwork is on my desk, I can always look forward to the next showdown. I think he won today, by the way.”_

_“Yeah, laugh it up.”_ Thor suddenly wished he hadn’t pushed the mug away so he could splash a few drops in her face.

_“Ah, don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll get his next time. Maybe try something about his hair; he seems to be sensitive about it,”_ suggested the woman helpfully.

He raised an eyebrow. _“Really?”_

_“Definitely. Or, if you want to get on his good side, maybe try complimenting it instead.”_

_“He has a good side?”_ Thor quipped on reflex, but his thoughts were very far from malicious.

The tutor barked a laugh. _“Nice one. I guess there’s not much chance of reconciliation between the two of you then?”_

_“Any hope for our friendship died when he said being a guitarist doesn’t take skill.”_ His voice was as firm and convincing as he could muster.

_“Yeah, figured as much. Ah well, good entertainment’s hard to come by anyway.”_

The attractive blonde slipped off the seat and stretched his arms. _“Thanks for the chat, but I gotta bail. Parties to go to, songs to sing. Later.”_

Cameron just nodded and half-raised a hand in a farewell gesture that doubled as a signal to the bartender, who began mixing the usual.

The second Thor was outside, he grabbed his phone out of a pouch in his book bag and drifted before the red lens of his shades. After some quick tapping, it returned there safely. As the smiling bass player walked away, he began to whistle.

\---

Loki heard a faint rumble in his bag as they lay beside his seat. The old tutor droned in the background as he subtly slid the offending object, his phone, out and checked it below the table, well out of the tutor’s line of sight.

**{[THOR]}**

_> Your hair is pretty attractive ;)_

 


	4. The Cinema

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

» The Book of Eternity

 **Chapter 4:** The Cinema

\-----

 _“You know, I’ve never been to this cinema before,”_ remarked Loki.

The lobby was large, but still held the atmosphere of a small business: cosy and warm, lacking the cold commercialism of most theatre chains. It was a delightful discovery, and he couldn’t be happier about it.

 _“Duh, this is affordable,”_ giggled the musician, holding two boxes of popcorn for them.

The artist shoved him playfully. _“You know I was joking when I said you have to pay, right? It’s only fair that I take care of the tickets since you got the food.”_

For a moment, Thor felt the urge to insist on paying for his friend, until a nervous student’s comment from their last tutorial swam to the forefront of his mind. _“Sure, I guess that makes sense,”_ he replied, feeling somewhat cheap.

Loki just smiled and trotted up to the counter. _“Two tickets to… um, Thor, what are we seeing?”_

 _“Oh.”_ The blonde quickly glanced up at the displayed titles. _“Slaughterhouse 3.”_ His answer was greeted with a flat stare. _“What? It’s directed by Tim Burton! He’s always good for a horror.”_

Sighing, the slender male turned back to the bored-looking cashier. _“Two tickets to… that, please.”_

Now armed with a couple of little pieces of paper, the pair made their way past the ticket-checker and into a short, dark hallway. After emerging into the decently-sized theatre, they quickly climbed the stairs and claimed two seats in the middle of a back row.

Since there were barely any other people nearby, Loki took the opportunity to pose a few simple queries to his popcorn-guzzling friend. _“Slaughterhouse? Really?”_

Thor coughed a piece of popped corn forward a few rows and painfully swallowed the rest so he could answer. _“Ow. You got something against slaughtering houses?”_

_“I have something against bad movies.”_

_“You haven’t even seen it yet! Don’t judge a book by its… slaughter…?”_

The artist giggled at that and delicately ate a single piece of his own popcorn. _“That sentence trailed off a bit at the end.”_

_“Yeah, it got away from me. Anyway, don’t judge it till you watch it.”_

_“It’s hard not to judge when it has a name like that.”_

Thor closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. _“Open your mind, little one.”_

_“I’m only a couple of months younger than you!”_

_“Shh, the movie’s starting.”_

And so began a hundred and fifty-four minutes of violence and improper camera angles.

In the midst of a particularly loud action scene, as serial killers riding ghost horses raked the ground with spell fire and a giant robotic monster tried to destroy Asgard off its mountain perch, Loki glanced at his company. The reflection played over his blonde hair, making the light streaks glow and enriching dark strands with deep colour. His eyes were still hidden behind red glasses, but it was easy to tell that they were wide open, eagerly absorbing the sensorial bombardment.

A thunder-crack made the artist jump, and a look towards the screen revealed that the monstrous Prince of the Night had erupted into a mess of scrap metal and fire. The dirt-and-grime splattered soldiers cheered triumphantly, and Thor punched the air with one fist as the other shoved more popcorn into his mouth.

The slim male couldn’t help but giggle at the guitarist’s enthusiasm. Thor noticed and tossed him a grin, thinking he was enjoying the movie just as much. _“I told you it’d be a laugh!”_ he said, leaning closer to be heard.

 _“Oh, I’m certainly laughing,”_ replied Loki as he suppressed the urge to mention that it wasn’t the explosions that were tickling his funny bone.

Later, in the penultimate romance scene between Viola  and Claude on the wreckage littered slope of a volcano, the artist noticed that much of Thor’s previous energy had dissipated, and he now lay across two seats with his head resting upon Loki’s arm rest.

 _“Ugh, with a body like that, he could do way better,”_ muttered the musician. His tinted shades turned slightly to peek up at the dark-haired male. _“Am I right?”_

_“I suppose. I haven’t really been paying much attention to his body.”_

The glasses quickly faced the screen once more. _“Yeah, me neither. I was just saying, like, in general or whatever.”_

Viola’s high-pitched voice cut through any thoughts that were being formed, shrill and feminine to the extreme. _“Oh, Claude! You cannot confront the real monster! I love you!”_

The male swept his hair back with one hand. _“Not to worry, my dear. I’ll just,”_ he looked at the camera, _“Kill him.”_

Both the artist and the musician groaned in unison before breaking out into laughter. Fortunately, the overly dramatic score drowned them out and prevented the seven other patrons from getting bothered.

When the lights finally came up and the credits rolled, the pair left their seats in good spirits. They laughed their way through the lobby and outside before calming down.

 _“Oh, God,”_ breathed Loki, _“That was simultaneously the best and worst movie I have ever seen.”_

 _“Yeah, I hear that.”_ The tan blonde rubbed at his aching ribs. _“I haven’t laughed that hard in months.”_

_“What should we do now?”_

_“What d’you feel like doing?”_

_“Maybe… go for a walk?”_

A smile slowly spread across Thor’s face. _“Sounds good.”_

And so the two males walked merrily away from the cinema complex and through the bright streets. Despite the length of the film, it was only early afternoon, a fact for which the guitarist was grateful, because it meant more time with his new friend.

Under the warmth of the sun’s charge, they wandered freely down packed streets, observing the sights and sounds of a happy day in Asgard. A gang of bikers rushed past, hooting and laughing without a care in the world. Three older males sat on a bench and gossiped about the other people around them, oblivious yet good natured. Vendors hollered their wares as if it was a country town, only instead of tomatoes and apples they had mobile phones and movies.

A cart rumbled past, pulled by an old horse. It was stacked high with flowers of every colour and kind, and every time the wheels hit a bump, a couple would fall onto the road. Seeing an opportunity, Thor darted forward and picked up a particularly delicious-looking sunflower with his fingers. Holding it by the stem, he turned to Loki, who was watching with amusement.

 _“Check it!”_ the blonde mumbled about his prize, _“Free gift!”_

 _“That was on the ground,”_ giggled the artist.

_“It’s a flower; they grow from the ground. Want it?”_

Loki hesitated, but decided to go along with Thor’s playful behaviour. It hadn’t steered him wrong yet. Leaning closer, he opened his hand and plucked two petals off delicately, bringing them into his mouth then blew them into the wind.

The stem broke suddenly, with the flower cut into three pieces, one of which was between the musician’s fingers. He dropped it onto the floor, reddening with embarrassment. _“Whoops. I, uh, guess I held it too tightly.”_

_“That’s okay, it wasn’t a very good one. The petals were all papery.”_

_“Well, lemme buy you a drink,”_ Thor suggested, jerking his chin towards a small café as the blush faded from his cheeks.

Loki tutted. _“I can pay for my own drink.”_ After a moment of silence, his eyes widened. _“Oh, but, um, thank you for offering. I didn’t mean to sound rude.”_

 _“Come on, Loki. I’m buying you a drink.”_ The blonde’s tone was final, but he flashed a smile to show that he wasn’t serious.

The pair found a comfortable table in the back, shielded from the prying eyes of the street. After a few minutes of scanning the menu, a cream-skinned female approached to take their order.

 _“Hey, what can I get… oh dear,”_ said Felicty.

Sudden, intensely awkward silence expanded like a bubble around the three of them. As much as Thor wanted to break it, he let caution decide his actions for once. Instead, surprising both him and the artist, Felicity was the one to look around nervously and lower her voice.

_“Listen, you can’t tell anybody about this, okay? If Kody and Craig found out I’m working here, I’d never hear the end of it.”_

_“You – wait – work – huh?”_ Thor asked eloquently.

_“I just need this job to help with school. My shop is doing fine, really. The staff can take care of it while I’m here. Just please don’t tell… wait a minute, wasn’t your assignment to go to the movies?”_

Loki considered quickly insulting the toned blonde beside him, but thought better of it. The game was compromised, but not unsalvageable. _“Yes, it just finished.”_

Be subtle and she’ll get the hint.

 _“So why are you being so chummy with each… oh…”_ Her eyes widened. _“But then that means we were right! Cameron was-“_

 _“What are you talking about? We hate each other.”_ Loki leaned towards the waitress. _“We hate each other, and you don’t work at a café.”_

 _“Oh…”_ Felicity quickly diverted her gaze to the table _. “That’s strange. I thought somebody was sitting here. Oh well.”_

Excellent.

With all thoughts of drinking forgotten, Thor led his friend out of the café, avoiding eye contact with a certain waitress the entire time.

 _“That… was weird,”_ he muttered once they reached the safety of crowds.

_“I agree. However, I also think it went a lot better than it could have.”_

_“Yeah, you really saved our asses. I was sitting there doing nothing like a tool, whereas you went all ‘sexy persuasion mode’ on him.”_

_“I… what mode, pardon?”_ Loki wasn’t sure if he heard correctly.

 _“Super persuasion mode. It was pretty awesome.”_ The musician didn’t seem to notice anything, continuing to walk happily onwards.

_“Thank you, I think. Our next class might be a little odd though.”_

_“I reckon. So what do you wanna do now?”_

He hated to be the one who suggests the obvious, but it couldn't be helped. _“I think perhaps we should part ways for now, lest we are spotted by another classmate.”_

 _“Oh.”_ Thor slowed to a stop, slouching slightly. _“Okay. That’s cool. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to take care of anyway, plus there’s a party I’m running jams for tonight.”_

The artist chuckled. _“Sounds like you have your hands full. Don’t forget to study, now.”_

_“Pshh, studying is easy. It’ll get even easier when I move into the student village.”_

Loki clapped a hand to his mouth. _“I forgot about that! So it worked out well with the scholarship people?”_

 _“Yup.”_ He raised his head proudly. _“They took care of everything, even found somebody who wants to share a dorm. Can’t wait to meet ‘em.”_

Without pausing to think, the slimmer boy threw his arms around Thor’s neck. _“Oh, I’m so happy for you!”_

Flushing considerably, the guitarist awkwardly returned the hug. _“Heh, well it’s just a dorm. Though it will make my life way easier.”_

Pulling away, Loki didn’t let his enthusiasm wane. _“Imagine if you were assigned to my dorm! I’ve been looking for somebody to share with for a few weeks now!”_

Thor’s eyebrows shot up. _“Wait, really?”_

 _“Yes! Oh, how amazing would that be?”_ He was grinning from ear to ear at the prospect.

_“Yeah… pretty damn amazing. Listen, I should really get going. All that stuff I mentioned isn’t gonna do itself.”_

_“Sorry, I’m holding you up. So I’ll see you… soon?”_

_“I’ll call you tonight at the usual time.”_ They shared a giggle. The ‘usual time’ was in the early hours of the morning, when neither of them could sleep. The bass player leaned slightly closer on reflex, as did the artist. They gave each other a surprised look and backed up. _“So yeah, um, bye.”_

Loki was left to his confusion as the blonde walked away. For a moment, an interesting possibility entered his mind. But it was fleeting, and by the time he started walking back home it was long gone.

\---

 _“What can I help you with, Mr Odinson?”_ the cheery male asked pleasantly. He had a streak of green through his hair, giving him a distinguished yet friendly appearance.

 _“Um, is it possible to choose which dorm I get assigned to?”_ the blonde replied, fidgeting with his fingers. The office reminded him of his high-school principals, bringing back a multitude of guilty memories.

Chuckling softly, he slid his reading glasses off and placed them on the table, leaning back into his leather chair _. “I get that question a lot. You want to share with a friend?”_

Thor nodded, feeling a little bit embarrassed for not considering how common this request would be. _“But I don’t want him to know we’re sharing. As in, like, I want it to be a surprise.”_

_“I see. And who is he?”_

_“Loki. Um, slender snobby person, studies-“_

The male nodded in recognition. _“Artistic theory, history, and psychology, yes, I remember him. We were lucky to get him here at all. Every university in all the seven realms were vying for that little male.”_

 _“Wow, really?”_ The musician leaned forward in surprise.

_“You bet. He’s one of the brightest young minds in Asgard.”_

Sure, Thor had known that Loki probably did really well at school, but he had no idea just how well! His new friend, the pale male with a gorgeous laugh and awkward friend-making skills, was way smarter than him. It was an odd mix of emotions running through his mind at that moment, resentment, jealousy, envy, but at the core there was only pride. One of the brightest young minds in Asgard, yeah, and also his best friend.

He couldn’t hold back the smile _. “There’s a lot more to him than I first thought.”_

The person across from him cocked his head. _“You seem like a nice person, and if you’re sure Loki wants you to share his dorm, then I can probably fix it up.”_

_“He does. Only, he’s hoping for a wild coincidence that puts us in the same room. I’m trying something a little more… practical.”_

_“Smart thinking. Well, if Loki wants it, he’ll get it. Can’t risk upsetting him and getting a bad report.”_ After a moment, the male gave Thor a stern look. _“Don’t tell anybody I said that. Or that I’m helping you out. If the other students found out I let you choose your dormitory, there would be rioting in the court.”_ The blonde started to laugh, but faltered under the continued gaze. _“I’m serious. It has happened before.”_

Swallowing nervously, Thor stood to shake hands with the male. _“Uh, no worries, I won’t tell anybody. Thanks for helping me out.”_

Just like that, the person was replaced by smiles and cheer once again. _“Not a problem. Have a good day!”_

A couple of moments later and the blonde pretty boy stumbled down the stairs leading away from the admin building and planted his feet on warm grass. The main court was winding down for the day as the afternoon got later and darker. For a few moments, a light breeze rolled through, carrying the scent of sunflowers.

Thor looked in the direction of the student village, and began to whistle.

\-----


	5. Path of Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

» The Book of Eternity

**Chapter 5:** Path of Ice

 

A mechanical pencil twirled and skittered along the paper under the gaze of red shades. Smooth, curving lines arranged into a certain pattern littered the entire sheet, much to the teacher’s confusion.

_“Are you okay, Thor?”_ he asked, drawing the attention of the entire class.

For a moment, the pencil paused in its delicate activity, and its controller raised his head off the table slightly. _“Yeah.”_

The teaching woman hesitated before continuing, and a few of the students turned their heads subtly, also interested in the guitarist’s behaviour. _“It’s just… you’ve been drawing nothing but wrists and hips since we began today. I know you’re already quite a skilled artist, but surely you could use some practice at defining texture like the rest of us.”_

_“Probably.”_ Another unbroken line, swirling around and trailing off with a little flick.

Trying a different approach, the teacher brushed imaginary dirt specks from her coat to appear nonchalant. _“Last week, you mentioned that you might know somebody who would be willing to model for us?”_

Finally, Thor stopped doodling and gave his full attention. _“Yeah, I haven’t asked him yet. But I was thinking, don’t we have, like, professional models or whatever?”_

Grateful for a proper response for once, the woman smiled. _“We do, but they’ve modelled for my class for years now and I want somebody new to have everybody sketch. It’s not good to get used to drawing the same people over and over.”_

The muscular blonde simply nodded and began drawing yet another of the delicate figures that occupied his mind.

But the teacher was determined not to let the conversation end that easily. Thor had always been one of the more outspoken members of the class, so seeing him being so quiet was worrying. _“So who is this mystery man?”_

_“Slender frame, long hair.”_

_“What’s his personality like? Maybe I’ve seen him around the campus.”_

Thor subtly moved a hand to cover as many of the unmistakable bodies as possible. _“I can’t remember. Haven’t seen him in a long time.”_

_“Well, I’m certainly excited to see her…uh…him. Do you think you can convince him to come in next week?”_

_“Yeah, no problem.”_

Satisfied that all was once again right in her classroom, the female went back to the front of the class and the other people returned to their own conversations and work. All except one, that is. A beautiful female with a narrow face and hair of dark brown was sitting beside Thor, eyeing his ‘work’ with interest. Her name was Annie, and she was the only person brave enough to talk to a silent guitarist.

_“Yo, what’s up with you today, dude?”_ she whispered, nudging her hand.

_“Nothing. What’s up with you?”_ he hissed back, continuing to trace those silken lines.

_“Wonderin’ why you’re being a zombie, mostly.”_

_“Stop wondering, ‘cause nothing’s wrong. Don’t you have some texture to define?”_

Annie snuffed a laugh. _“Come on, I only took this class because drawing is easy as hell and doesn’t have any exams. Seriously though, what’s up?”_

_“Don’t act like we’re best mates, okay? Just back off.”_

The confused lady shuffled away, her long brown hair unfurling like a shield between her eyes and Thor. _“Whatever. You don’t have to be such a jerk about it.”_

_“Go cry to your mum,”_ muttered Thor without thinking.

God, she’s right… what the hell is wrong with me today?

It seemed as if his years of experience making friends and being sociable were all going down the drain, leaving an angry core that couldn’t even hold a conversation.

I can’t be like that. What if I was a bitch to Loki?

His chest clenched at the thought, and he knew the problem had to be fixed before it got worse. Lightly tapping Annie’s shoulder to get her attention, Thor took a deep breath. _“Listen, I-“_

_“Don’t worry about it,”_ she replied instantly, brushing her hair aside.

_“What?”_

_“I think I know why you’re so weird today.”_

Heat slowly crept up the musician’s neck as he cautiously inquired, _“Yeah?”_

_“My little brother Kody is in your psychology class. He said the tutor is always picking on you.”_

Kody? That tiny brunette who always looked nervous?

_“He said that?”_

_“Yeah. Also told me that you were kinda mean to him in the first tutorial, but he forgives you.”_

_“Uh…”_ Thor wasn’t sure what to say to that.

_“Don’t worry, I forgive you too, dude. Going to that class every week while knowing that the teacher is just gonna be a dick to you must be frustrating.”_

That was it!

Pretending to hate Loki must be messing with my head. No wonder I’m being a jerk today.

But that stopped now. This guitarist wasn’t about to let Cameron control how he behaved.

_“You have no idea.”_

_“If you ever feel like getting wasted and forgetting about it all, I can hook you up with cheap booze. Keep it on the down-low, though.”_

Thor scratched his chin thoughtfully. Drinking buddies can come in handy, after all. _“I might just do that. Here, put your number in my phone.”_ He grabbed the object in question out of a bag and over to Annie, who took it with a grin.

As she tapped her own digits in, it was difficult to ignore a certain other name in the contacts. _“Loki?”_ she whispered. _“You’ve got Loki’s number?”_ Blood rushed to her face and she began to stammer before being interrupted. _“Half the girls here would kill for that number, and the other half are gay. Damn, it must be awesome being a musician and getting to talk to all those higher-ups.”_

_“Uh, yeah, it’s pretty sweet.”_ Did she not realise that the artist was also in her psychology class? Or was she playing a game with her?

_“Here.”_ She handed the phone back cheerfully. There didn’t seem to be anything malicious about her, that’s for sure. But how could he tell?

The rest of the class passed in an uncomfortable haze for the toned blonde. He managed to stop drawing shameful curves and did a quick sketch to demonstrate his knowledge of texture, earning kind words and a smile from the teacher, who clearly assumed that everything was now back to normal.

But the second Thor walked out the door, his phone was out and dialling. Constant arguing was taking a toll on his social skills, and that needed to end quickly if he was to remain good at his job.

**{[CALLING LOKI]}**

Ring r-

_“Hello Thor!”_ the slightly tinny voice of his friend greeted happily. _“How was drawing?”_

_“Same old, same old. What’s up?”_

_“I am completing a history assignment at the moment. Oh, and I have some exciting news!”_

The guitarist smiled at how enthusiastic the normally-calm male was. _“Yeah?”_

_“I received a notice telling me that somebody has been assigned to my room! Oh, I hope it’s you!”_

_“Don’t get your hopes up, I’m probably not important enough to share with you rich people,”_ he replied, chuckling a little to make it clear he was joking.

_“Don’t talk like that. Hm… darn, I just remembered that I know the student coordinator. I should’ve gone to see her and requested you as my dorm mate.”_

_“I don’t think that would’ve worked.”_ Thor hoped his grin wasn’t audible. _“She’s probably not allowed to let students choose who they share with.”_ It was becoming difficult not to laugh.

_“You’re probably right.”_ Loki sighed. _“I’ll just have to hope that they are friendly.”_

_“Or sexy. Or both! Then you’d never be bored.”_

The artist giggled at that. _“You have a one-track mind, Thor.”_

_“I regret nothing. Hey, there’s something I wanted to talk to about.”_ He looked around to make sure nobody was close enough to hear. The building was almost empty now that his class was over.

_“What is it?”_

_“You know our… pretend arguments?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“Um… I don’t know if I can do them anymore,”_ Thor said simply.

_“Why?”_

_“Cause… I don’t like arguing with you.”_

_“But we always used to argue as children.”_

_“I know, but it’s still… I don’t know, but it’s not fun anymore.”_

There was a moment of silence in which he bit his lip worriedly.

_“What should we do then?”_ the artist finally replied, his happy mood having clearly abated.

_“Maybe… not argue, instead we just don’t talk to each other during that class. We’ll act like we just can’t even stand the thought of speaking now. Like, we hate each other that much.”_

_“Well… okay. I thought you liked trading insults with me, but if it’s bothering you that much then I’ll agree to stop.”_

Thor winced. _“I do like trading insults with you, really. It’s just… I’m still acting bitchy even after we stop arguing, and I don’t like it.”_

_“You don’t seem ‘bitchy’ when we are doing our little assignments. Are you sure you’re not just being too hard on yourself?”_

The guitarist snorted before replying. _“Well obviously I haven’t been bitchy with you.”_

_“How is that obvious? I’m not following,”_ queried the male on the other end.

_“Uh, I meant, like… well it doesn’t matter. What I’m worried about is that I might become bitchy with you, and I guess I like you too much to risk ruining our friendship.”_ The words came easier than expected, and for once Thor didn’t feel as though there could have been a better way to get his message across.

_“Oh. Well, if you phrase it in that manner, I understand what you mean. Very well, from now on we shan’t talk in class.”_

_“Sweet.”_

_“And… thank you for saying that.”_

_“Saying what?”_

_“That you don’t want to risk ruining our friendship. Having never experienced one before, it feels nice to be reminded that I now have one, and that it’s with somebody who seems to value me as much as I value them.”_

Thor felt a little awkward having everything spelt out like that instead of just taking it as a given, but when he considered that Loki had nothing else to draw from when it came to this kind of situation, it became a lot more tolerable. _“Hey, no worries. I’ll text you a hundred times a day if you want and remind you.”_

They giggled together, and the musician took advantage of the brief gap in spoken conversation in order to once again make sure that nobody was nearby. An irritatingly familiar formerly-shy brunette was making his way down the hall beside an orange-haired male with carrot sticks in his hand.

_“Maybe one or two texts to that effect would be nice, but you don’t have-“_

_“Crap, sorry, I gotta go.”_ Without waiting for a goodbye, he exited the call and slipped the phone back into its pouch.

“ _He’s the one I told you about,”_ Kody whispered to his friend loudly, clearly not actually trying to hide her words. _“So, Thor, were you talking to your new boyfriend?”_

It turned out that there were some upsides to being forced into a battle of insults every week. Namely: a razor-sharp wit and good reflexes.

_“Nope, I was talking to yours,”_ replied the tan blonde with a wink. Kody seemed slightly dumbfounded, and his friend broke into laughter.

_“S-shut up, Craig,”_ muttered the mare irritably.

Thor didn’t stick around for a second bout. _“I’ll leave you to whatever it is you were doing in this building together… alone.”_

He let those words hang in the air and marched straight past them, heading for the exit.

Unwilling to let him get away with the last word, Kody called out, _“I’m not gay!”_

The guitarist mentally wished himself luck and took a stab in the social dark. _“Does Felicity know that?”_ he shouted back.

A brief pause, then the quiet voice of Craig, inquiring, _“What does he mean by that, Kodz?”_

The air outside tasted of victory. A huge grin stretched his cheeks almost painfully, but it was so worth it. Kody would have a fair bit of difficulty digging himself out of whatever it is he got stuck in. Even without the details, it looked messy.

With success flowing behind him, as well as the knowledge that the only people he needed to be mean to now were those who deserved it, Thor was feeling pretty good about his lot in life. In a few days, he’d surprise Loki by moving in while the artist was in a class or something, and they’d be able to spend all night talking face to face, instead of through a phone.

And then he’d really be in heaven. All Loki, all day long. This time, Thor didn’t even bother coming up with an excuse. He liked being around that slender boy, and there was no point denying it.

It was the… other things… that could use a little denying.

 


	6. Lunar Snowflakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

 

**Chapter 6:** Lunar Snowflakes

\-----

Loki felt more than a little ridiculous wearing the university designed backpack. He’d so far resisted the urge to refer to himself as a walking billboard, but only out of respect for Thor. The blonde-haired man was very insistent that he wear it for some reason.

It wasn’t the style that was the problem, for it was quite a cute thing that rode nicely on his bottom, but rather the big ‘AU’ on the side. Loki tried not to be as fussy about fashion as his mother had been, but honestly, who wants to wear words on their clothes? The whole point of wearing things was to make a visually engaging statement, and having letters just seemed redundant.

Regardless of his true feelings, the artist maintained a pleasantly unconcerned demeanour as he accompanied Thor into the empty classroom.

“What exactly will I be doing?”

“Um,” the guitarist scratched the back of his head, “Standing still, I guess. Think you’re up to it?”

“You’re hilarious.”

The first person other than them to arrive was the teacher, a woman with a pale brown coat and orange, distinguished hair. She gave the pair a friendly smile and had a decidedly easygoing air about her. “Hello Thor. And you must be the man we’ve heard so much about?”

“It would appear so.” Loki glanced at Thor, wondering what exactly ‘so much’ entailed.

The teacher also possessed a remarkable ability to sense his thoughts. “That was a joke, dear. Thor hasn’t told us anything about you. I see that you will certainly meet our needs, however. It’s been a while since we’ve practiced on models who actually live up to their title.”

The artist smiled and tipped his head gracefully. “You flatter me. I’m just happy to be of assistance.”

“You remind me of my niece. So polite, that one. Oh, but I’ll have to insist that you take that backpack and sweater off. We’re studying the body, not the clothes.”

Inwardly sighing in relief, Loki slipped the zip-up jacket off of his tight skinny torso and deposited it on a table and let his bag drop to the floor. Thor’s mouth opened as if to interject, but before he could say anything, the rest of the class arrived en masse. The blonde slipped away to a desk far away from the seductive male, and began to unpack his equipment.

It felt somewhat awkward standing at the front of the class beside the teacher. For a brief, surreal moment, he thought it was high school once again, and he was being called upon to give a speech for which he had not prepared. Shaking his head to gain freedom from those thoughts, he smirked slightly. Unprepared for a speech? Now that was surreal.

“Alright, class, as I told you last week, we’re going to practice drawing correctly-proportioned bodies.” The teacher raised a hand towards the slightly tensed male. “Assisting us today is the beautiful… I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name?”

“The fault is mine; I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Loki.”

A few murmurs passed through the class, and most of the girls sat up straighter, suddenly very keen on paying attention. Thor rolled his eyes as Annie followed suit. “Careful, your eyes are gonna fall out if you stare any harder,” he whispered, earning the satisfaction of seeing her become aware of her behaviour.

“Hey, I have no control over my eyes, dude. They go where they want, and right now they want some of that ass, know what I’m saying?” she hissed back, grinning madly.

Oh, you have no idea. And neither do I.

“You’re such a perv.”

“You’re such a prude.”

Thor snorted at that, and soon both of them were muffling their laughter. It was a good few minutes before they realised that the class had begun sketching, and they quickly got to work. Loki looked slightly uncomfortable standing alone now that the teacher had sat down at her desk, yet he managed to remain completely motionless.

A more interesting subject Thor had never experienced. He alternated between different shades of pencil, each at different pressures and angles, carving a monochrome artist out of reality. Caught in an explosion of light that seemed to permeate and enhance him like sunlight shining upon clouds, his little Loki seemed more real than the classroom around him.

The male himself noticed that the students were slowly turning, one by one, to look back at the musician, who was feverishly scratching at the paper with several white-hazed pencils. Loki had never seen Thor so completely absorbed in something before. It was truly a new perspective.

Eventually, even the teacher ambled on over to her desk and peeked at the work. As much as she hated to interrupt, it was unavoidable. “Um, Thor, sorry dear, the sketch is supposed to be realistic.”

The blonde frowned and the pencils paused mid-stroke. He picked up the page and held it aloft, comparing the subject with her work. “What are you talking about? It looks exactly like him.”

Loki desperately wanted to charge over and snatch the paper for himself, but he resisted the urge and focused on staying still.

“It’s a little bit, er, impressionistic.”

“What? How?” Thor asked defensively.

“Um…” the teacher leaned down so she couldn’t be overheard. “Well, to my eyes, Loki seems to be well, a tad bit revealing. I think you might be having the artistic vision of a… succubus.”

The artist saw Thor’s eyes widen in response to the woman’s whispers, and a dark blush flooded his pale cheeks in a most fascinating way.

What in Asgard is he embarrassed about? Did he make a mistake?

The guitarist closed his notepad and began packing up, accompanied by a chorus of disappointed groans as the rest of the class was denied a chance to go over his work. The teacher didn’t ask why, nor did he try to stop him. Instead, she returned to the front of the class and drew attention away from Thor by discussing how to position face structures correctly.

Loki tried to catch the blonde’s eye, but he seemed to look everywhere but him. In moments, he swept out the door, sun-touched hair bobbing.

Trapped under the gaze of a dozen students, there was nothing he could do until the class ended.

“Take note of how his pants pockets are on the center of his bottom, and be careful when drawing the stitches. Those of you who haven’t studied realism might find it-“

“Oh!” exclaimed the dark brown male who had sat beside Thor. All attention turned to him and he quickly stammered an explanation. “Uh, I just realised what I was doing wrong.” A few sniggers was all the social punishment he received for interrupting the teacher, and he quickly returned to staring at the artist’s curves.

It was slightly more humiliating than he had expected. Perhaps that was why Thor had tried to make him wear the book bag; it covered that area rather well.

So many questions! He hoped his musician friend was up for a very long phone call tonight. Granted, he would be tired. Thor had his Musical Theory class straight after Artistic Theory. Well, tomorrow they would definitely get to chat. Friday was Psychology day, and they would be putting their new tactic into action.

After that, Thor would have to face the music.

\---

Cameron patrolled the front of the class, wild vibrant hair and breasts bobbing with energy.

“Wow!” she exclaimed.

A few moments passed as she continued to pace.

“Wow!” she said again. “I mean, can you believe it? We’re already in week five! I don’t know about you lot, but I feel like we’ve really bonded over the last few classes. Especially our favourite pair!”

Instantly, all eyes snapped to both males, who sat on opposite sides of the class as usual. They didn’t even open their mouths, showing no reaction.

Cameron raised an eyebrow and gave it another shot. “So how was the movie?” Again, no visible sign that they even heard her. Finding no entertainment in silence, the tutor cut her losses. “Alright, let’s just move on. Now, the next assignment,” she launched into a list of what was expected, and the students quickly began writing, all thoughts of the two males forgotten.

From across the classroom, Thor desperately wanted to wink or smirk at Loki in celebration of their apparent success, but he knew it could cost them dearly if somebody noticed.

For though the majority of the class was focused on writing, one particular male (who happened to have a snap is his tongue) didn’t take his eyes off the blonde for a moment. His left eye was darkened by bruising, giving him quite a terrifying scowl. Interestingly, Felicity sat at a different table today, and winced every time her left knuckles touched something.

With no long-winded arguments to extend the class, it lasted barely another twenty minutes before Cameron reluctantly let everybody go.

“Sorry everybody! I guess I started planning these things around their arguments and now they’re clearly conspiring together to disrupt my class.” She looked between the two quickly. “No? Alright fine, same time next week everybody.” Surprisingly, she actually seemed a bit confused by their tactic.

As they dispersed, Thor took his usual path up the hill back towards the main court. Loki suppressed the urge to catch up and begin interrogating the guitarist. He had waited all day for this; he could wait a few minutes longer.

Unfortunately, that insufferable jerk was going the same way, glaring at Thor from behind. With him in the way, there was no way Loki would be able to speak to Thor in private. Kody seemed intent on not letting the bass player out of his sight.

With no other options, the artist resigned himself to trying a late-night conversation. It irked him that things kept obstructing his righteous questioning, but he kept calm and changed course, heading back to his flat.

So help him, if Thor didn’t answer the phone…

\---

**{[CALLING THOR]}**

It was only midnight, but Loki couldn’t wait any longer. He had never realised just how boring being alone was. It was so quiet! More than once he wished he could hear Thor snorting back a laugh, or speaking loudly and giggling between words like he did when he was feeling playful. He’d sometimes wave his hands around excitedly when ideas occurred to him, or when the artist confessed he hadn’t looked at certain artists.

“You’re joking, right?” he’d say, the raising of his eyebrows indicating that his eyes were wide behind the glasses.

“Not in the slightest. I told you I don’t listen to much of that…rock,” Loki would reply, further inciting shocked reactions from Thor.

“But it’s the greatest kind of music ever-“

“Hey? Hello? Yo, Loki, are you there or what?”

Snapping out of his daze, he quickly remembered what he was doing.

“Oh, hello Thor. Sorry, I was distracted.”

“All good. What’s up?”

For a moment, his mind blanked. What was so important again? There was a muffled crunching from the other end, meaning Thor was having a midnight snack. He always ate like a pig and still managed to stay at the perfect weight. Maybe he should ask him how he does it?

“How are you not fat?”

A pause.

“Uh, what?”

Loki reddened and mentally kicked himself. “I’m sorry, ignore that. I keep getting distracted tonight!”

After a moment, during which Thor was probably weighing whether to investigate further, the crunching resumed. “No worries, I guess.”

“Um, what I did want to talk about was the Drawing class.”

The crunching slowed slightly. “Yeah?” The blonde’s voice sounded cautious.

“I was wondering why you ran out halfway through the lesson.”

“I was… done.”

“Done?”

“Done. Finished the sketch and the dude let me go.”

“Oh.” That’s it? He just finished early? But that didn’t explain his avoidance of the artist. Although, did he really avoid him? Or am I just so needy that I require attention at all times?

“Yup.” The dark-haired male was slightly startled until he realised that the musician could not, in fact, read minds, and was instead trying to continue the conversation.

“I suppose with that out of the way, what are you doing tomorrow?”

“Uh, I got a whole heap of stuff lined up this weekend. I don’t think we’ll have time to chill until Monday.”

Loki couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt, but he did his best to squash the feeling. “That’s okay. However, we both have two lectures on Monday. There’s no way we’ll have time to… to talk and do what we normally do," he trailed off.

“Hey, this is totally off-topic, but did you know that lectures aren’t compulsory? They actually record them so students can listen to them later.”

“I… I do know that, yes, but considering I live on campus, I don’t really have an excuse to miss them.”

Thor chuckled lightly. “I’m glad to hear that. So, by the time your second lecture ends it’ll be, like, midday right?”

The artist wasn’t sure how any of this was relevant. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“And your first lecture starts at eight thirty?”

“Yes…”

“What do you do during the break between lectures?”

“I’m not sure where you’re going with this, but usually I’ll get something to eat and study in the library.” Now he was really confused.

“Uh-huh… alright, that works out awesomely! I promise you Loki, we’ll find time to chill on Monday.” Thor giggled a bit, but seemed to try and control himself.

“You’re being very strange tonight. Have… have you been drinking?” the artist asked warily.

“What? No! But that does give me an idea… Sorry babe, I gotta go. Later!” With a click, Loki was alone again.

No doubt Thor was off to a bar to get extremely drunk for no discernible reason. That was one activity that they would never share. Hiding behind his age might work now, but that would change in a few weeks’ time. Then… well, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. It would be tough-

Wait, did Thor just call me babe?

Loki almost squealed.

My first nickname!

\-----

 


	7. Shallow Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

» The Book of Eternity

 **Chapter 7:** Shallow Lights

\-----

Of all the places he wanted to be on a Sunday night, this was not in the top ten.

Stumbling half-drunk down a dark Asgardian street, leaning on Annie for support.

This wasn’t even in the top fifty.

“Didn’t know you were such a lightweight,” chuckled Annie, sliding an arm around the musician’s neck to keep him upright.

“You were pumping drinks into me, dude. Fuck off,” replied the grumpy drunk.

The two people continued their awkward shuffle down the gum-encrusted sidewalk. Slowly, the eager female let her hand drift along Thor’s back until it came to rest upon his ass. Ever so softly, she began to trace little circles on his jeans.

“What are you doing?” The toned male shoved her away, but stumbled and tripped without the support.

She laughed and helped him up. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

“Where are we going again?”

“Back to my place, like you asked.”

He frowned. “I don’t remember asking that.”

“Well you did, dude.” Annie put her arm around his neck again and pulled him forward a few steps.

“Wow there, easy. I don’t know what you think is happening, but it ain’t happening,” he said, trying to sound as serious as possible through the haze that clouded his mind.

The female paused in her attempts to assist him. “Are you serious?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“So… all that money I blew on drinks… were for nothing?”

Thor’s drunken brain felt absurdly guilty, and he placed a hand on her shoulder (though that may have been for support as much as sympathy). “Sorry, Annie. When you said drinking buddy I thought you meant, like, an actual buddy.”

The woman slumped visibly. “You’re a damn tease, Thor.”

“No I’m not!”

She snorted. “Hanging off me all night, pretty much grinding on me in the dance pit, doing tequila shots off my stomach, nah, you’re a saint.”

“Did I really do all that?”

“More or less.”

“Crap, I’m sorry. I get a little friendly after a few drinks.”

“Whatever. Reckon you can find your way home from here?”

“Uh…” He looked around at the tall, black buildings and the featureless road. “Sure, no worries.”

Annie shook free of his comforting grip and started walking away without another word.

Left on his lonesome, the warmth in his veins slowly chilled in the icy night air. As pretty as Asgard was during the day, it looked downright creepy at night. Sure, there were plenty of streetlamps, but they seemed so suffocated and suppressed by the cold blackness that they provided little comfort. Sudden, crackling tendrils of panic curled around his spine.

I’ve changed my mind!

“Annie?” Thor turned to look at the way his ‘friend’ had gone, and only saw her figure vanishing around a street corner. “Annie!” he croaked. A night full of shouting was affecting his voice at the worst possible time. He tried to jog after her, but only made it a few steps before falling over. The world swam before him. “Stop it… I just wanna get home…”

But his head was heavy and it felt as though the pavement was the only thing stopping him from dropping below the world. It was not a good feeling, but he had endured worse. Granted, those times he hadn’t been lying in the road.

There comes a time in every drunk’s night where they have to accept that they may not make it home.

He took some deep breaths to try and force his mind to work.

Can’t get home on my own.

Need help.

Somebody who can take care of me.

Screwing his eyes shut in concentration, the blonde grabbed his mobile out from its pouch.

**{[CALLING LOKI]}**

As the ringing began, he let the phone rest on the side of his head, releasing it from his trembling grasp.

Click.

“Honestly Thor, this is late even by our standards,” yawned the angelic voice on the other end.

“Sorry.”

“Are you okay? You sound a bit hoarse.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You?” What was he calling about again?

“Aside from being awoken by this call, I’m quite alright.”

“Yeah you are. You’re always alright,” Thor grinned, scratching his cheek against the ground.

“Well, I suppose. Are you sure you’re okay?” Somehow, the musician could hear Loki frowning in concern.

“Hey, I just wanna say, cause I’ll never say it to your face, you’re pretty cool. And, and, I reckon we should chill together more because… yeah. You’re awesome.”

A pause.

“Oh sweet God, have you been drinking ever since our phone call on Friday?” He ignored the words entirely.

“Nah, nah, just tonight. But, like, listen to me. I am being totally open and stuff. I’ve been having these dreams, right? And they’re like, full of those curves and pale tone things, like the ones you have. And sometimes I’ll see you in my dreams too, and we’ll hang out and go walking together.”

“Thor,” interrupted the artist, who sounded more amused than irritated. “You should get some sleep. Drunken phone calls are most unbecoming.”

“I can’t, I don’t know where I am. But shush, this is really important. I think. When I think about you-“

“You don’t know where you are?!” exclaimed Loki. “What do you mean? Are you just wandering the streets?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“That’s not safe at all! Do you see anywhere familiar at all? I’ll come and get you.”

“That would be awesome. Um, nothing familiar, but I think the street I’m on is called ‘Lefiheim Road’, though I’m also pretty hungry so that could just be… hey, can you bring some blueberries?”

“Hold on, I have a map of Asgard here somewhere.”

“And some whipped cream. Throw in some chocolate shavings too.”

“Lefiheim Road is adjacent to the main clubbing district. Did you go to any clubs?”

Thor snorted. “Man, please. I went to all the clubs.”

“Of course you did. Well, I think I know roughly where you are. Just stay there until I find you, okay?” the artist sounded so serious that he managed to cut through the nigh-delirious fog clouding the drunk person’s world.

“Heh, don’t worry. I’m going nowhere fast.”

\---

As soon as the conversation ended, Loki shoved his phone in a small, one sided bag and bolted out of his room into the hall. The lamps were bright and made his eyes hurt, but he persevered regardless.

The artist burst into the stairwell with a crash, leaping over the first set, skidding, and bypassing the second via rail slide. His hair was a mess, his t-shirt was ruffled, and he had forgotten his bowtie, but all of those things took a back seat in his mind.

A friend in need.

He had read about the responsibilities of friends, and best friends, and best friends forever. In this situation, he was bound by the rules of friendship to help Thor get home safely. It didn’t matter if the male had brought this on himself, or if Loki had two lectures later today. Those were the rules, and this male always followed them.

This was, however, the first time he had ever needed to remember that particular set of rules. It was all well and good to know the code of conduct among advanced acquaintances, but if he didn’t have any, they weren’t much use.

Well, not anymore!

With determination in his veins, Loki charged down the hall and through the final door into the night. It was cold, very cold, but he didn’t stop running. His teeth were chattering so he clenched them to remain focused.

The student village was on campus, hidden away in a far corner. The point was to be close enough to justify living there to get to class easier, yet far enough that students could maintain their own lifestyles without being under the scrutiny of the university’s faculty.

A long, winding path through an unnatural forest led him into the main court. For once, the sheer enormity of the place didn’t excite him; rather, he felt exhausted just by looking at all the ground he had to cover.

Thoughts of a carriage crossed his mind, and he latched onto it hungrily. There was no way he could run all the way downtown!  A hired transport was the clear solution. Not only would it save his legs, but the driver would know exactly where Lefiheim Road was.

It was a great disappointment then to see the empty ranks outside the university gates. Where usually there would be a couple of carriages eager for your directions (and your money), now there was a single wet newspaper flapping in the breeze.

Running all the way downtown it is, then.

He took off at a steady jog, wisely deciding to conserve energy. After all, he might need to drag a certain muscle-stacked male all the way back.

There were few other people out this late, and the ones he saw were promptly avoided. A thousand tutor-taught parent-approved lessons in safety came rushing back. Don’t make eye contact if somebody looks unprincipled. Cross the street to avoid them if possible. Remember, it’s better to look rude than to get mugged. And for the love of God, Loki, don’t go into any dark alleys.

Thankfully, the club district wasn’t exactly hidden away. It was entirely possible to reach it using only main roads, no alleys required. A small comfort in a big, cold city, yet he was grateful for it nonetheless.

It was barely fifteen minutes later and he was panting. Sure, he maintained a good exercise regime as required to keep himself healthy, but that was just a jog around campus and some stretching routines, nothing that actively increased his endurance. Slowly but surely, his feet began to get sore from slapping against the tough (and occasionally uneven) pavement.

Thor.

The pain that shot through each heel when it struck the ground changed meaning, becoming incentive to pick up that foot and push it forward. Each inhalation of crisp night air brought with it more energy, and he narrowed his eyes in conviction.

The artist had a goal, and there was simply no time for physical limitations.

Rounding a corner, Loki spotted the very sign that had eluded him.

**Lefiheim Rd**

Grinning, he forgot all about the ache in his feet and started down the street with renewed enthusiasm.

No wonder he wasn’t certain where he was. This looks like every other street.

Black silhouettes came into focus further down the road, and his heart jumped into his throat.

His comfy little dorm was a long way from here…

He slowed his pace, keeping an eye on the group. It was two males, probably high school kids who had snuck out. They didn’t seem very good-natured, but it was the thing they crowded around that made his heart speed up.

A wobbling blonde with the muscled curves of a god.

“Hey!” he screamed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

They looked up, slightly startled, which was a good sign. It meant they weren’t sure who had the power in this encounter, which in turn meant that Loki could take that power.

“Get away from him before I eviscerate you!” He picked up the pace, hoping it would frighten them into making a snap-decision of fleeing.

They backed up, but one of them still had a bit of defiance. “Or what?” he shouted, voice cracking and betraying his fear.

“I know how to fight! There won’t be anything left for your parents to identify!” He had never shouted so loudly and forcefully in his life, nor had he ever been so confident in a lie.

That final threat was enough to tip the tables in his favour, and the two teenagers sprinted away as he reached Thor.

As the artist carefully looked over the unconscious male, he felt his panic slowly abate. The was clearly unharmed aside from a couple of light scrapes, most likely from tripping over. The two boys were probably just poking a passed out drunk, as disgusting little teenagers are drawn to do.

Thor’s signature red glasses lay beside his head, and Loki realised with a start that this was the first time he had seen his friend without them. Now if only he was conscious…

“Thor, wake up. Come on now, you can’t sleep here,” he whispered insistently, gently poking his flushed cheeks.

He certainly has very soft skin.

Finally, a response. “Urgh, just let me die,” groaned the blonde without even opening his eyes.

“Absolutely not! I came all the way here from my dorm to get you, so you better darn well get up and be grateful!”

His eyes cracked open ever so slightly, but in the dim street lights Loki wasn’t certain if they were even looking at him.

“Huh? Loki?” Well, that answered that.

“Yes, it’s me. You called and I came. Now hurry up and move your ass!” He couldn’t help but be a little annoyed at the slow reaction time.

Thor reached out with a hand, patting the ground blindly until he found his shades. Fumbling a bit, he slid them on and raised his head slightly. “Hey.”

The artist hoped his flat look would be a suitable reply.

“Uh, right. I’ll get up.” With several curses (three of which Loki had never even heard of), he hauled himself upright and stood swaying upon the sidewalk. His hair was even more dishevelled than usual, and his expression was one of hung-over agony.

Needless to say, the artist snuffed a laugh. “Oh, you look ridiculous.”

“I think if I try to talk too much I might puke.”

The pale male took a step back. “Can you walk on your own?” he asked hopefully.

“I can try, but if I fall over again I’m going back to sleep.”

Pushing through the mental image of being covered in vomit, Loki walked up beside Thor and put an arm around his neck. “Come on then, let’s get you out of here.”

They began the awkward drunk-herder shuffle. Never in a million years did the dedicated student think he of all people would need to do it. Truly, it was humbling to see that the lives of other, slightly less reserved students were also susceptible to hardships, albeit self-inflicted ones.

At least, that was what he used to occupy his mind during the long, painful walk through the streets of Asgard. As streets blurred together and his feet went numb, Loki felt his energy drain away. Now that the initial rush was over and Thor was safe, the very late hour was beginning to have an adverse effect on him.

Or rather, the very early hour, as the lightening horizon suggested.

“Oh God, I haven’t stayed up all night since… ever!” he mumbled, now holding onto Thor for support as much as the other way around.

“You get used to it,” came the croaky reply.

“I certainly hope not. At this pace, I’ll never get home in time to get any sleep.”

Thor snorted. “Just crash at my place. We’re almost there anyway.”

“I - I’m not sure, maybe I can just catch a carriage now that it’s morning-“

“Loki. Chill. You’re staying at my place tonight. Today. Whatever.”

“Well… if you’re sure it would be okay.”

“It’s fine. Now come on, it’s just around the corner and I think my hangover is gonna get a lot worse if I don’t sleep soon.”

For once, the use of that vague phrase was extremely literal, a fact for which the artist was infinitely grateful. Thor’s flat was indeed just around the corner, and up an elevator, and down a corridor. It wasn’t the nicest looking building, nor was it host to the most refined of company, but the snake held his tongue, knowing that such criticism would bring absolutely no good whatsoever.

Inside Thor’s apartment, he could definitely see why the guitarist wanted to leave. It was extremely small, with everything in one room (except the bathroom of course, which was somehow even smaller). Cardboard boxes packed tight with belongings took up most of the floor.

“I don’t blame you for not unpacking. I would also hate the idea that I could live here for any length of time.” The words slipped out before he could think, and he slapped a hand to his lips.

Luckily, the exhausted male didn’t even seem to hear. He slipped free of Loki’s supporting arm and stumbled forward, falling onto the bed.

“Um… where should I sleep?” asked the dark-haired male, feeling very awkward about the obvious answer.

As expected, a large hand patted the mattress lazily.

“Can you move over a bit?”

A twitch that almost looked like a shrug passed over the male’s body. He was checking out of reality, next stop dreamland.

Loki climbed tentatively onto the bed and tried to manoeuvre himself so that he didn’t accidentally touch the guitarist. It was hopeless; there was simply no way to avoid it. Wincing and moving very slowly, he lay down and held his breath as their bellies were pressed together.

This is rather nice after being out in the cold.

Thor was fast asleep, his breathing deep and slow. Every time his chest expanded, it pushed gently against the artist.

Warmth radiated from the blonde-haired male, and Loki caught himself before he snuggled closer.

Must stay alert! This is my first sleep-over; I can’t afford to make a fool of myself.

But as his body realized that the action was finally over and it was time to rest, he found his ability to regulate movements to be severely lacking.

So nice and warm…

The artist pressed his face into the tanned cloud, smiling at the comforting heat. It was safe there, nice and secure, relaxing and cozy. There was no need to think. His eyes fluttered shut and he happily slipped into a daze.

And as the pair slept, unintentionally entwined but with complaints from neither side, the sun broke through the early clouds and lit the city with its merry glow.

 


	8. Blazing Dusk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

» The Book of Eternity

 **Chapter 8:** Blazing Dusk

\-----

Being in such an unusual predicament so far outside his comfort zone, it would have been expected for a boy such as Loki to react with stammering exclamations and embarrassed chuckles. But if the sleepy brain was one thing, it was relaxed. When he awoke in an unfamiliar feeling bed, he simply yawned and tried to return to sleep. This artist’s hours were up though, and the longer he kept his eyes shut, the more they wanted to open. His senses returned slowly, emerging from the deep, warm depths of sleep. Hearing, the sound of a busy city, tasting, a few stray hairs that made him scrunch his nose in disgust, smelling, sweat and spice and alcohol, touching, a large heat-pillow, seeing…

The sprawled god sleeping right next to him.

Loki would remember the moment as being akin to seeing a spider skitter across the floor, complete with the impulse to jump back and scream and so forth, but the truth was a lot less terrifying.

“Oh dear,” he mumbled.

Thor’s glasses were askew, revealing his closed eyes for the second time in recent memory.

Memory…

The events of last night came rushing back, bringing the artist completely out of his sleepy daze.

Upon glancing at the sleeping beast with clear eyes, he couldn’t help but giggle at his friends dishevelled state. Sitting up, he reached out a hand and tentatively brushed some of the guitarist’s unruly blonde locks out of his face. From a completely objective standpoint, Thor was really quite pretty.

In a moment of bravery, Loki plucked the red shades from the end of the tanned male’s nose, leaving his face bare. Breathing softly, Thor projected an air of openness that the artist had not been privy to before.

This was him.

Just him.

In his own home, completely unguarded, with no acts or personas, no red-tinted shades to hide behind.

Thor Odinson.

Loki’s breath hitched at the sight. If only he could draw realism, if only he could capture the image forever and ever. But part of him knew that to record such a moment would be to strip away everything that made it unique. Instead, the artist did the next best thing: embrace it. He let the rush of emotions flow over his body and through the air around them. This was their moment, one that could never be taken from them or replaced. A single, defining, experience that-

Ring ring.

“Oh for the love of-“ hissed Loki, ripping his phone out from the pouch still strapped to his hips.

Click.

“Can’t I have just one moment of artistic reflection? Who is this? What do you want?”

“Is that how the university is teaching you to speak to your mother?”

His face dropped and he quickly climbed over Thor and onto the floor. Remarkably, the musician didn’t even stir. “M-mother? Uh, no, mother, I’m sorry. H-how are you?” Searching desperately, he scrambled about for his bowtie before remembering it was back in his dorm. Being completely unclothed and messy made him feel about as unprepared for a chat with his mother as possible.

“Spare me the inane pleasantries, Loki. I think we both know why I’m calling.” The voice on the other end sounded just as stern and commanding as he remembered.

The artist spared a glance for his sleeping friend, but there was no other option. This phone call would turn ugly if Thor woke up halfway through. “I-I’m afraid I don’t know why. Is something wrong?”

“Something is indeed wrong. I spoke to a friend of mine who works at the university. He’s a groundskeeper, a stout old chap.”

Slipping out the door and closing it softly behind him, Loki quickly descended the stairs. “Well he certainly sounds very interesting, mother, but what does he have to do with me?”

“When you insisted on staying in one of those hovels, I knew I had to take a few precautions. You are still a little naïve and suggestible, for all your talent. The groundskeeper was acquired and given a new purpose: to make sure you got home every night.”

He shoved through the ground floor doors and glared at the first pedestrian she saw, a young schoolboy who immediately changed course. “You’ve been spying on me?!” he exclaimed, scaring a male waiting at a carriage stop.

“Don’t go making this bigger than it is. Males your age can often get side-tracked by silly pursuits such as romance and friendship. Those things are merely tools that you can use to advance in the world, nothing more.”

Loki started walking faster in the direction of the university. A whole new appreciation for what Thor had to deal with every time he had a class began to form, but it was not enough to distract from his fury. “I can’t believe you! So that speech about independence and ‘standing on my own two feet’ you gave me on the day I left was completely meaningless, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, here you are going off on one of your melodramatic tantrums and you wonder why I’m so protective. You’re not as capable as you seem to think, Loki, and the call I received from the groundskeeper proves it. You didn’t make it home after your odd early-morning excursion.”

The artist resisted the urge to scream. “He watches my dorm while I sleep?!”

“Of course not, don’t be silly. He merely checks the campus security camera footage every morning. Now, explain yourself. Did you spend the night in somebody else’s bed?” She could almost feel the intense stare through the phone.

There was a sense of sick desperation in his forced chuckle. “I-I don’t understand-“

“You understand perfectly well. Tell me the truth.”

“I… yes I did, but it’s not-“

“Loki! After everything I’ve taught you, you do something like this after only five weeks!”

“I swear I didn’t… it’s just Thor, I was helping him-“

“Thor?” The line went dangerously silent. Heavy breathing distorted his mother’s voice. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying, young man?”

“He was drunk and lost in the city so I helped him get home and he let me stay at his place but we didn’t do anything I swear!” blurted Loki, ignoring the looks from amused bystanders.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes I’m certain!”

“So you’re not…”

“N-no! I swe- Believe me, I’m not!”

“Good. I taught you better than that, at least. But still, I’m very disappointed in you. Don’t risk your safety like that again, especially not for some low-life drunk,” spat the older woman.

“He’s not a low-life, mother. He’s my friend,” Loki replied quietly, dangerously. “My first friend.”

The satisfaction of silence was short lived. “Bah. We’ll see how long that lasts. Be a good boy and go to class.”

**[CALL ENDED]**

Loki quickly returned his phone to his pouch to avoid stomping it into the sidewalk. Every single conversation with that insufferable woman ended like this! Constant insults and belittlement, all shred of control and independence ripped away in a matter of minutes, leaving him feeling like a ridiculous little boy.

Tears threatened to spill down his cheeks as he waved a carriage over. When he climbed aboard, the first one dripped onto the wooden floor and he tried to rub them away.

The driver turned around and peeked into the carriage. It was a small one, only meant for two people, and it had no roof. “Where to, darlin’?” he drawled.

“West Asgardian University, please,” he sniffled quietly.

“Righto. Uh, is everything okay?” The concern in his voice made his heart warm. Not all people are bad, he had to remind himself.

Loki gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be alright. But thank you for asking.”

He nodded and began to move. They rumbled down the road to the sound of city life, shouting and chatting, laughter and anger, and as he listened, the artist felt his own sadness trickle away. There were so many other students around him, all with their own problems and worries, and all of them probably more serious than an argument with his mother. It was a rush of perspective, and it was exactly what he needed.

Taking a deep breath, he dabbed at his eyes and tried to fix his hair. He would need a shower and a proper grooming session once he got home, but for now it was acceptable. With a start, Loki realised he didn’t have any money on him.

“Sir? I’m sorry, but I forgot to bring any money,” he said guiltily.

The tiny carriage didn’t pause for a second. “Then yer lucky I’m a sucker for cryin’ males. No charge.”

Now that surprised him. There was being a kind and chivalrous man, and then there was purposely wasting time that could be used making money. “No, I can’t let you do that. Stop, I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

“Nope, yer gonna enjoy the free ride.”

“Are you sure? You could be taking somebody else right now.”

“Mister, if my carriage gets you away from the source o’ yer tears faster, it’ll be worth it.” His dark brown facial hair glistened with sweat.

“Thank you.” It was all he could say. Such random generosity had been absent from his life until that moment. He had nothing to gain from helping him, he wasn’t trying to buy, manipulate or otherwise benefit from it. He was simply acting out of the goodness in his heart.

Now that was something his mother had never taught him about.

\---

Pain.

Glorious, horrible pain.

Beams of light raked against his skull via his eyes, pounding and throbbing to the beat of consequence.

“Never again,” croaked the guitarist.

He lay there, wrapped in a cocoon of misery, wishing for anything to end his suffering. As usual, the deities that were supposed to help hungover students were probably sleeping off their own intoxication, and thus had no time to ease his pain.

Part of him wanted to sit up and try to force his body to get over it through sheer willpower, but the feeling in his throat meant that would be a very short-lived attempt. It seems as though once again the only solution was to suffer.

In the midst of his sluggish mind, Thor wondered why he had never looked into finding a way that got rid of (or prevented entirely) hangovers. The answer was as clear as it was frustrating. When he wasn’t hungover, he didn’t care.

And so he groaned and moaned and swore at the sun, rolling back and forth while trying to push himself deeper into the bed. An eternity later, he raised his head. A few more eternities later, he sat up completely, marvelling at the rotary capacity of his room. Eventually he slid from the bed and dropped to the ground.

The first thing he looked for was his glasses. They were tinted for a reason, after all, and when he put them on the light was dulled and his headache eased slightly. The shower was next, and he let the warm water wash away all the sweat and dirt that had somehow formed in his sleep. Even the red shades got a nice clean, so when he stepped out and dried himself, they sparkled with a devilish flair that he loved.

Slowly, the world stopped being horrible, and a degree of normalcy returned.

Thor heard a faint buzzing sound, and cast his eyes around for the offending mobile. It was amongst the sheets, the cushioning muffling its message tone.

**[3 NEW MESSAGES]**

Being popular was hard work.

**{[LOKI]}**

_> Sorry for leaving, my mother called and I didn’t want to wake you up._

_> Wake up, sleepy head! :)_

_> You’re going to miss your second lecture if you don’t hurry!_

Oh shit!

Lectures! University! Those things still existed despite his bad start to the day.

Wait, he wasn’t going to go to them anyway. He had something else to do…

Wait, Loki had been here?!

Too much stuff! Shut up, brain!

The musician attempted to organise his thoughts.

Where was he last night? Annie! He went drinking with Annie! Thor remembered arriving at a bar, laughing and dancing with a drink standing before him and the lady’s hand around his waist, but that was it. After that, there were just blurry images and sensations punctuated with an oddly serene voice. “Come on then, let’s get you out of here.”

He flicked through his phone, looking for the call history. As he suspected, a single call had been made at about three in the morning… to Loki.

“Oh God, please tell me I didn’t do anything stupid…” he whispered. Some part of Thor remembered the texts he had inspected moments ago.

The artist didn’t seem angry… in fact, there was a smiley face in the second message. What did that mean? Had something… good happened?

‘Like what?’ his mind prompted.

Nothing.

He moved on, latching on to the next hazy memory.

The lectures! The plan! Everything was still salvageable, if he moved quickly. It was still mid-morning, so Loki would be in his Artistic Theory lecture. That left about an hour for Thor to get all of his belongings to the campus and into his new room.

This was going to be close…

\---

Checking his phone was becoming something of a nervous habit. It didn’t help that the lecturer, a pudgy female with too much makeup on, seemed to be under the weather, accentuating each sentence with a wet, hacking cough. For once, the artist regretted sitting at the front of his class. Not only was he in the germ-zone, but it made indulging his new habit feel that much more shameful.

Surely, Loki thought, he must be considered quite a rude student, pulling his phone out every few seconds. Yes, the other students did it too, but they were all sitting at the back of the room, far out of the bespectacled female’s sight.

All he wanted to see was the little flash of light and those big words telling him that-

Bzzzz.

The nervous male snatched his phone up almost violently.

**{[THOR]}**

_> Hey, I’m awake. Sorry if I did anything dumb last night, I can’t remember much._

And with one text, the artist’s worries were assuaged.

_> Finally! You’re going to miss half of your lecture now. And don’t worry; you were no different than usual while intoxicated._

**[MESSAGE SENT]**

Finally, now I can focus on taking notes.

Picking up his pen between his fingers, he took a moment to peruse the mind-numbing paragraph-length dot points that were arrayed on the projector screen. This week they were apparently studying one of the greatest yet under-appreciated painters in history. Well, at least until they died.

Loki found that a bit sad, that their worth wasn’t realised until it was gone forever, but also inspiring, that even if his own art wasn’t popular or liked during his life, there was still hope that some future classical art enthusiasts would see his merit.

As engaging as he found the idea, it was still incredibly boring to write about. Most of it he had known for years, and the notes he jotted down would never be read because of that. But he wrote them anyway, if only to distract him from other things. An idle mind can be quite a nuisance sometimes.

Another glance at his phone revealed that the lecture was drawing to a close anyway, so he started packing away his things in advance. As expected, the last couple of slides were just reiterating information he knew by heart. Yes, his first attempt at professional painting came out in that year. Obviously. Yes, he was publicly denounced by the artistic associations of those times. Everybody knew that. The only thing Loki didn’t know about this class was why it seemed to think he was a little boy picking up a paintbrush for the first time. Honestly, if a person made it to this class at all, it would be assumed that they’d know a little bit about artistic theory and which prominent figures influenced the modern system.

Sighing with relief, Loki slid out of his chair and took his leave as the lecturer coughed her way through a side door.

Freedom!

The smile that had been gracing his lips all day returned in full force. It had been a rather emotional few hours after that horrid call from his ghastly mother, and though the kindness of the carriage driver did much to ease his mind, there were always going to be thoughts and worries rattling around the back of his head like loose screws.

Thankfully, it was only a short trip to his dorm. They were like mini apartment buildings, two stories with six rooms on each, and two students to a room. In total, there could be a maximum of twenty-four students to each building, though there were only seventeen-or-so in his currently.

Well, that was going to change soon! A roommate was going to be moving in any day now, for better or worse.

As he climbed the stairs, Loki heard hushed voices in the hallway above. Before he could investigate, a dark-skinned female walked right in front of him, blocking the way up.

“Hello!” she said cheerfully.

“H-hello there.” The artist felt rather awkward for a moment, but then his demeanour brightened. “Oh, are you my new roommate?”

“Nope! I’ve been here for ages.” Her ice-blue eyes sparkled with untempered happiness.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise. Um, do you think I could go past? It’s been a long day.” The pale male made to step around the other student, but was quickly blocked by a sidestep.

“Wait! I have to ask you something first.”

Raising a hand to motion for her to go ahead, Loki’s ears twitched at the sound of something heavy thudding on his floor. The absolute last thing he felt like doing was helping this girl with homework, but he forced himself to be patient.

“How do you spell ‘stalling’? It’s been bugging me all day.”

“S-t-a-l-l-i-n-g. Perhaps you should invest in a dictionary?” he answered, trying to step to the right of the blonde-haired lady, who darted in front of him once again.

“Thanks so much! What about ‘delaying’?” That smile was starting to get infuriating. Further thuds echoed from above, plucking at his curiosity chords.

“D-e-l-a-y-i-n-g! If you would excuse me-“

“And impeding?”

“I-m-p-e-d-i-n-g! I really must-“

“What about ‘hindering’?”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but these are questions that you could easily direct towards a book, which doesn’t need sleep. Let me past,” he ordered, pushing forward irritably.

With a sigh, the girl fluttered out of the way and let Loki storm up the last few steps. Finally, he walked down the hallway and pushed his door open, ignoring calls from behind asking him to stop.

A stack of cardboard boxes and a pile of technical equipment.

A computer sitting amongst a tangle of wires on the second desk.

A bootstrap bar table set up in the centre of the room.

A blonde prince peeking sheepishly at him from inside a half-sealed cardboard box.

_“Uh, hey roomie!”_

 


	9. Vivid Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

» The Book of Eternity

 **Chapter 9:**   Vivid Lies

\-----

“How did you-“ spluttered the artist.

“Spoke to the student coordinator,” replied the guitarist as he climbed out of the box.

“But you-“

“Told you not to do that ‘cause it was unlikely he’d let us move in together?” Thor grinned and winked.

“When did-“

“Carried my stuff across town about an hour ago. I’ve never used so many muscles at once in my life!” He gave a slightly breathless chuckle, and Loki noticed beads of sweat clinging to his tanned arms. “Wow, I feel great!” The blonde made to take a few steps closer but stumbled, and the artist rushed forward to catch him.

The sound of soft footsteps came closer, followed by a thud in the doorway. “Sorry Thor!” said the smiling sidekick. “I held him as long as I… oh, I’m sorry! Um, let me get the door!” He quickly pulled it closed before either of them could explain. Further muffled apologies came through the thin door, getting quieter as the odd student retreated.

Thor seemed to have accepted the fact he could no longer stand, happily going slack in Loki’s arms. “This is cool. Isn’t this cool?”

“O-kay, I wasn’t aware that overexerting yourself made you delirious,” muttered the artist, half-dragging his friend over to the freshly-made bed beneath the window.

“I feel pretty good about things,” the musician informed him, nodding his head sagely as he was placed gently upon the covers.

“That’s nice, Thor,” giggled Loki as he turned back to unpack the rest of the princely males possessions.

The male in question let out a low chuckle as he did so. “You should walk away from me more often.”

“Get some sleep, you silly boy, lest I start writing down what you say so I can bring it up later.”

Sure enough, within a few minutes the room was flooded with soft snoring. Loki rolled his eyes and dug into the nearest box. Unsurprisingly, he emerged with a stack of pristine sketchbooks neatly stored in transparent cases and labelled with delicate consistency.

After going through a second and third box and finding nothing but art pads, the artist became exasperated. “Did you even bring any clothes or personal items?” he asked irritably. It didn’t help that the only answer was in the form of a particularly loud snore.

Deciding to shake the next box before opening it, he was delighted to hear the sound of small objects sliding around.

If this isn’t his personal belongings, I’ll eat my bowtie.

Sure enough, inside there were a number of little gadgets and miscellaneous objects. Of notable interest was his phone, a small, easily concealed thing as was common to people who rarely needed to physically touch their mobiles.

He rolled it between his fingers and it activated, seemingly welcoming his touch. Loki glanced at the sleeping prince cautiously, then let a little smile creep onto his face.

It can’t hurt to see how many contacts is considered normal. I won’t look at any messages though, not unless my finger slips.

His eyes widened as the names began to scroll. “Oh my…”

There were hundreds! Although some were named ‘That dude with the goatee’ and ‘Red-haired female’, there were still a great many with proper titles, far more than the pale male had anticipated. Compared to his own meager list of three numbers (Thor, his mother, emergency services), he felt like an inexperienced player in a complex social game.

Oh dear, I’ve accidentally opened his recent texts.

Strangely enough, aside from somebody named ‘Annie Sexbomb’, she was the only student Thor had texted in the last couple of weeks.

Where are all her party invitations? Does he call them instead of texting?

That seemed the most likely answer, but Loki resisted the urge to look through the recent calls.

What if he is as bored and lonely as I am? Oh, thank God he found a way to have us share a room.

Things were looking up.

Curiosity satisfied for the moment, he carefully placed the various keepsakes and such upon Thor’s desk. There was still a lot of unpacking to do, not to mention some shuffling of the furniture. A bar table really shouldn’t sit in the centre of the room…

\---

The musician awoke to the soft, deep, reverberating tones of someone scribbling somewhere to his right. Raising his head a few inches, a magnificent scene revealed itself.

There, sitting on the bed opposite him, half covered in the speckled orange glow of sunset shining through rain, was Loki. Eyes focused downwards, absorbed in his work, hand gently guiding the pencil across the paper, he struck a memorable sight. And in the waking-daze of the sleepy guitarist’s mind, that sight became positively angelic.

Gasping, the blonde finally remembered to breathe and in doing so unintentionally alerted the subject of his fascination.

“Huh?” Those emerald eyes flickered open and trained themselves on Thor. “Oh, you’re awake! Sorry, I always practice at sunset. I should’ve gone somewhere-“

“No,” croaked the bass player. Clearing his throat and sitting up slightly, he continued. “It’s cool. Uh, can you keep drawing please? I… gotta do something.”

Loki frowned but did as he was asked, resuming the piece with the calm skill of a master.

Thor slipped off the bed and padded across the room, giving the artist an almost reverent berth. From the neatly stacked school supplies that had transported themselves onto his new desk, he withdrew his sketchbook and pencils.

Upon seeing it, Loki’s cheeks flushed red. “Um, Thor, I’m not very good at-“

“Shh,” hushed the pale trickster, positioning himself in front of his roommate as if he was in a daze.

And dazed he was, now exposed completely to the musician before him. Higher thought processes escaped him, instead replaced by an insistent, congenital urge to create.

Together they sat, one drawing and the other creating, in the dusk bloom.

As the most perfect of moments are drawn to do, it ended too soon. The sun drifted completely beneath the horizon and broke the two students from their mutual waking-dream.

Loki lowered his pencil and stretched his suddenly aching wrist as Thor looked up in surprise at his odd position on the floor.

“Why am I sitting here?” he muttered, climbing to his feet and cracking his neck.

“You were drawing.” The artist gestured at the sketchbook, currently open on an image of a male with a… “You were drawing me?”

“Uh… I guess I was. And you were drawing too.” They frowned at each other.

After a moment of silence, Thor snorted and started to chuckle. “What the heck are we doing?” He laughed even harder.

“I have no idea!” Loki burst into a fit of giggles. The absurdity of the situation only fuelled their mirth. “Not even a day of living with you, and I already feel like I’ve been drugged.”

“It’s all downhill from here, mister!” The guitarist tossed the sketchbook back onto his desk and climbed up onto the bed beside his friend.

“Oh God, why did I agree to this?”

“You didn’t. That’s why it’s so awesome.” He playfully jabbed a finger into Loki’s side, eliciting a squeak. “Oh? What’s this?” A devious grin parted his lips.

“N-nothing, don’t do that again.” Saying that was practically an invitation, as the bigger male dived on the pale man and brought his skills in for full effect, rubbing and tickling his stomach with a smirk. “Aha! No! Stop – no – please!”

“What’s that? You trailed off a bit at the end!” Thor redoubled his efforts despite the male’s struggles and hysterical laughter.

“Thor – I – Will – Kill – You!” With a mighty pull, he rolled the two of them off the bed, narrowly missing Thor’s abandoned bass and landing with a thud on the carpet.

They lay there, panting and staring at each other, almost nose to nose. One wore a silly grin and the other tried his best to muster a fear-inspiring glare. It wasn’t working, as evidenced by a lazy hand drifting up and poking his nose.

“Boop,” whispered the musician.

“You will die by my hand,” the artist hissed back, though he couldn’t help the smile that grew across his face.

“Such a nice little one, aren’t you?”

“I was. You’ve ruined me.” Thor let out a familiar low chuckle, but remained silent, still wearing a lopsided grin. “What?” Loki raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing.”

Just thinking ‘bout ruining you.

“Tell me. What’s so funny?”

“You probably wouldn’t find it funny.” His mind raced, knowing that the other male wasn’t going to drop the issue.

“Only one way to find out. Tell me.”

“Alright, I was thinking… you think you’re ruined now, just wait. This is just the beginning.” He gave the most evil grin he could manage for emphasis.

“Oh, shush. I don’t think you’re as bad as you pretend to be.”

Thor moved slightly closer, glasses masking his wide eyes. “Let me show you how bad I am,” he said softly, heart pumping so hard he was afraid it might burst.

Loki followed suit, apparently interpreting the movement as conspiratorial rather than… anything else. “How? Have you got pranks planned?” he giggled at the thought.

“Uh… yeah, sure.”

What am I doing? Was I really trying…?

“Well try not to include me in any of them. I’d rather stay off the university blacklist for as long as possible, though I suppose now I’m sharing with you it’s an inevitability.” He chuckled and brought his own finger up to tap Thor’s nose. “Boop!”

The bass player forced a laugh, his brain still reeling from certain thoughts. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Well, if you don’t have any pranks planned right now, we should get something to eat. All that ‘getting tortured by you’ has left me famished.” Loki climbed to his feet and helped his friend do the same.

“Good idea. Anywhere in mind?” Thor tried to keep his tone even as he shook his head to dislodge some persistent mental images.

“Perhaps Midnight’ Tavern? For nostalgias sake?”

The pair shared a warm smile.

“Sounds like a plan.”

\---

In contrast to the chilly grey streets outside, the tavern was warm and brightly lit. People laughed with their friends as they let the stresses of life trickle down the sides of their mugs. A group of hardhat-toting workers had taken three booths including the corner one, so Thor instead led his roommate to a table on the less-rowdy side of the bar.

“I didn’t even know this place served food,” muttered Thor, grabbing some menus over from the bar counter.

“It’s nothing really extravagant, but it will do. My… mother took me here once, when we came to inspect the campus grounds.”

“Yeah? Sounds like you and your mum are pretty close.”

“Well… to some degree, I suppose so.” Loki picked up one of the tall menus and hid his expression behind it. “What about your parents?”

Idly browsing down the array of greasy foods, Thor shrugged. “They’re lame. Kicked me out as soon as I turned eighteen.”

The artist gasped, forgetting his own troubles in an instant. “They what?! How could they do that?”

“Pretty easily, apparently.”

“That’s horrible!”

“Eh, who needs ‘em. Besides, if I hadn’t got kicked out, I might not have been able to move in with you so easily.”

“Well… still…”

The topic slipped away as a tall, strawberry-haired male approached. “How can I serve you?” he drawled, accent offsetting his manner.

“Large onion fries and a deep-fried shish kebab,” announced the gleeful prince, slamming his menu down with more force than was necessary.

“Excellent choice. And for the missus?”

Thor opened his mouth to correct him, already preparing a fake laugh to dispel the anticipated awkwardness, but Loki spoke too quickly. “I’ll have some California rolls, please.”

“Another good choice. Coming right up.” Marching away, the odd man began to whistle, completely unaware of his actions.

“Uh, Loki… You know what a ‘missus’ is, right?”

It was the artist’s turn to shrug. “A slang word for ‘friend’?”

“Er, almost. Well, not almost. Not even close, really.” The pretty boy couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Well what does it mean, then?”

“Like… partner. As in, partner-partner. Female partner.”

“Oh.” As expected, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. “So he thinks…?”

“Yup.”

“Oh dear. I’m very sorry, Thor. Is there a dictionary or something where all of these slang words are defined? I seem to be making this mistake often.”

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll get the hang of slang eventually.”

“Should I go find that waiter and explain it?”

The musician sat upright instantly. “No! I mean, uh, it’s not important enough to bother with. Okay?”

“Alright, it was just an idea.”

Silence reigned for the next few minutes, punctuated only by the ambient noise around them. Loki felt awful, and had yet to stop mentally kicking himself.

Thor must get so frustrated with me sometimes! Why must I be so awkward?!

Thankfully, Thor seemed to be tactful and polite enough not to make fun of him. Whatever he had done to deserve such a tolerant roommate, it wasn’t enough. A little, grateful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. A better best friend he couldn’t have hoped for.

For his part, Thor was busy studying the table carefully. Only because he had an appreciation for well-built furniture, not because he wanted to keep his mind from wandering. It did that enough already.

The giddy feeling that spread through him every time he relived the waiter calling Loki him ‘missus’.

Seriously brain, shut up.

It was a relief when the food finally arrived. They both dug in immediately, not daring to leave a moment for conversation.

As his stomach slowly filled up, the guitarist felt his mood improve significantly. That was why he kept having weird thoughts: his brain was just food-deprived. It made sense.

“I’m feelin’ good. Wanna hit up some clubs?” he asked, ignoring the glances people threw at him from nearby tables.

“After dinner? That’s just asking for trouble.” Loki delicately pushed his plate forward and dabbed at his lips with a napkin.

Thor snorted. “You’ve had a few fries. You’ll be fine. Plus we don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.”

Biting his lower lip, the artist fiddled with his hair before shaking his head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m honestly tempted. However, I have a history lecture tomorrow that I would rather not miss.”

“I guess I was wrong. You’re still a nice little boy.” He stuck his tongue out and the moon-skinned male rolled his eyes. “Hey, it’s almost eight! We better get home in time for homework!”

“Oh, har har… though I really should get started on my homework.”

They stood up and walked over to the counter amidst giggles. Loki carefully began to count out exchange change until Thor tossed a handful of coins onto the counter and pulled him away with a grin.

“Pretty impressive, huh?” The bass player raised his eyebrows behind the red shades as they walked out onto the street.

“What was?”

“Paying that much for the meal. I mean, I looked pretty cool, right?”

“I suppose so. It seemed like a waste though. You could have saved that money for the next time we go out.”

A large hand smacked into a flushed face. “That wasn’t the point.”

“Well, what was?”

The simple question hung in the cold night air. Thor looked at the ground, studying each step.

“I don’t know,” he muttered.

Together, they ambled into the welcoming darkness in which emotions could hide.

 


	10. The Archaic Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

» The Book of Eternity

**Chapter 10:** The Archaic Ones

\-----

The weather outside may have been dreary and cold, but it held no power over the pale male grinning into his pillow. He had the warmest of thoughts keeping him happy.

His friend, his best friend, was lying in a bed not six metres away, giggling quietly beneath him covers. The faint sound of beeping barely reached Loki’s ears, and as expected, a few moments later his phone began to ring. It was the third time this morning; the first had awoken him and the second had made him aware of the culprit.

The artist reached a hand out to his bedside table and pulled his phone over, answering it with a blind jab.

“Hello?”

Tiny laughter reached him at the same time as the giggling across the room got louder. He waited patiently as the mysterious caller cleared his throat and spoke in a comically deep voice. “Is your refrigerator running?”

“…Are you really doing this?”

“Mister, I really need to know. Is your refrigerator running?”

“I don’t have a refrigerator. The dormitory kitchens are technically owned by the university.”

“Well you better run after… uh, hang on a sec.” The line, and the room, went silent as Thor attempted to salvage the situation. “Alright, is the university-owned refrigerator running?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t used it yet.”

The bass player ripped the sheets off his head. “Damn it, Loki!”

Sticking his tongue out, the male in question slid off his bed and walked over to his friend. “Well, that’s why you don’t try to prank call somebody with the oldest trick in the book.”

“How do you even know about prank calls, anyway?” Thor casually patted the space beside him, and his friend took the hint, climbing up and lying next to the stronger male.

“Like I said: oldest trick in the book. Pranks were featured in one of the ‘university preparation guides’ I read. Granted, it was more focused on recognising and neutralising mischief rather than instigating it, but-“

“How many of those books have you read?” Maroon lenses flashed inquisitively.

Loki inwardly cursed himself for not waking up early enough to see Thor without them. “I… um none actually. It’s a natural talent, remember.”

“Did you ever try anything to stop being mischievous?” Reaching out, the blonde idly started touching his friend’s slightly dishevelled hair.

The artist frowned. “Like what?”

“Nevermind. I was just saying whatever, you know?” Thor’s voice shook a little.

“You can be really odd sometimes, Thor,” he giggled. “Why are you touching my hair?”

Pausing for a moment, the musician’s mind raced. “Because that’s… what best friends do. One of the things, anyway. Play with each other’s hair, you know.”

“Really? What are the other things? I should start researching this.” Loki bit his lip and quickly stuck a few fingers in his roommate’s hair, making him wince.

“Easy there! You’re not supposed to rip my hair out. And anyway, you don’t need to research anything. That’s what I’m for! I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Thor. I wouldn’t have a clue what to do without you.” He leaned closer and planted a grateful kiss on the guitarist’s cheek before hopping off the bed. “Well, you’ll have to start teaching me later, because I have a lecture soon.”

A rush of air swept past as Thor rushed to the bathroom door. “I’m having a shower!” he called, voice cracking as he stepped into the blue tiled room.

“O-kay?” After a moment, the sapphire-eyed male dismissed his friend’s antics and started getting ready.

First, he would need to prepare the books and stationery needed for the lecture. Next, he needed to perform his morning exercises. Finally, as he would be rather sweaty by then, a shower would be required, followed by the finishing touches. It was all a matter of not letting anything impede his routine.

\---

Sheer, immovable awkwardness.

They descended the stairs without looking at each other.

“Are we going to talk about it?” Loki ventured tentatively.

“No,” replied Thor.

“But we’re both men, so what difference-“

“I was in the shower!”

“It was an honest mistake! I was distracted and forgot you were in there!”

“Couldn’t you hear the water?”

“I… get very focused on my routine.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

The bass player pushed through the exit door and paused to keep it open for the other male. Loki smiled nervously. “So… are we still friends?”

That seemed to shock Thor out of his righteous anger. “What? Yeah! Of course we are. Just… let’s never talk about this ever ever ever again, okay?”

Smiling genuinely now, the artist nodded. “Okay.”

“Cool. Now gimme a hug and go to class.” The embrace ended far too soon, and Loki quickly walked away.

Thor stepped back inside the building and practically skipped up the stairs. He didn’t have any classes today, so that meant finding something to do until his friend got back. The university provided many different on-campus entertainment facilities such as pool tables, movie rentals, and social hangouts like the tavern, but none of them caught his interest.

Instead, he walked merrily back into his room, closing the door behind him. In a flash of sparks, his bass guitar (which had dragged itself over to sit beside his desk) came to life and whirred happily, like a pet greeting its owner. Additionally, the bulky computer beeped into being, flashing various screens at the guitarist.

Plucking his glasses off and resting them nonchalantly on his head, Thor felt a grin tug at the corners of his mouth. There hadn’t been much time or energy for making sick bass lines lately, but now here he was with a few hours and the perfect inspiration.

I hope these walls are strong.

Within minutes of starting production, the window was vibrating from an extremely low, almost imperceptible bass lines, like the forceful hum of an empty room. It sent tingles down the musician’s spine. He always started a song like this, just to get the energy flowing and keep his heart pumping. It filled the room with a restless yet focused vibe, forcing him to always stay moving and thinking about the music.

But something was slightly off today. He went for the usual tones, wondering how to give them new life, when a particular synthesised instrument caught his attention.

Maybe… just a test…

At the tap of a button and a pulse of passion, a deep, ominous tone emanated from his speakers. A guitar playing a single, constant note. The sound quality was almost perfect, every minute scratch of the non-existent pick moving across virtual strings captured in jaw-dropping clarity.

And… it was good.

It gave the bass a completely different meaning, now dark and scary, almost seeming to warn of approaching doom, contrasted with the energetic feel it held before.

Thor seized the sudden realisation and began trying a few different notes, simple patterns, nothing truly amazing. But when the music looped and played his new additions, he practically squealed with delight. This was something he hadn’t even thought of doing before. Who knew that a virtual instrument would fit into modern tunes so well?

The next hour and a half passed in a haze of giddy experimentation as he brought in several other instruments from the strings section. The guitarist felt as though there was a whole other world of music that he had been too blind to see before now.

And it was all because of Loki.

As if he needed another reason to-

The music was suddenly kicked up to an even higher volume, safely blasting away any and all thoughts currently battling through the blonde’s mind. He gritted his teeth and focused on the screen, but it was hopeless trying to concentrate now.

With a sigh, he turned the volume back down to more reasonable levels. Those traitorous thoughts crept back in slowly, whispering possibilities and confessions that he was neither ready for nor inclined to confront. But they didn’t care if he was ready, scratching as they did in the back of his head.

What if…

Maybe…

“Damn it, go away!” he yelled, slamming a hand down on the table and making it shake. But the thoughts didn’t cease, so he buried his face in his hands in frustration.

When would it stop?

\---

The chilly air sent his hair completely into disarray the moment he stepped out of the lecture theatre. Sighing, the artist vainly tried to restore order for a few moments before ultimately giving up, instead trying to focus on getting back to the student village.

Ahead, huddled together near the mouth of the path leading to the apartments, were two males, one of them a familiar smart-mouthed male who raised his head upon spotting Loki.

Heart beating slightly faster from remembered insults, the artist tried to politely ignore them.

“Hey,” called Kody. The other male looked up as well, orange curls waving in the breeze. Loki tried to keep walking, but a second shout followed after. “Hey, hold up a second!”

“I really should get home-“ he said over his shoulder, slowing very slightly.

“Only take a moment. Jeez, you act like I’m gonna hit you.” The cocky male walked up and smiled. His black eye had faded considerably, but was still quite noticeable.

The pale trickster forced a chuckle. “Yes, that would be ridiculous.”

“Now listen, uh, you’re not a big fan of that Thor Odinson guy, are you?”

Oh no, oh no, we haven’t been very discrete lately, have we? Did he see us together? Does he know we share a room?

When no answers presented themselves, he hesitantly stuck to the plan. “No… not at all. He, er, really gets on my nerves.”

“Yeah, same here. He bothers a lot of people, way I hear it.” A dark smirk split Kody’s lips. “Up for some revenge?”

Cold anger crackled to life within the artist. “Revenge?” he asked coolly. “Revenge for what?”

The smirk faltered for a moment. “For… uh, for all the stuff he used to say about you in class.”

“Name calling and petty insults?”

“…Yeah. Didn’t he piss you off?”

“Yes, but only until I left the classroom. He hardly crosses my mind at all outside of our psychology tutorial. I think it’s rather childish to seek revenge for something so trivial.”

“But I bet when you two were out on your assignments he was even worse! Right?” The male was quickly losing control of the situation, unable to deal with his unexpected response.

“Occasionally. But again, when he was out of sight, I forgot about him. I refused to let such negative feelings rule me.” Loki stepped forward with a disappointed frown. “But it seems you have done the opposite, Kody. Rather than accept your petty feud with Thor as just that: petty, you’re actually seeking other students to conspire with against him. Therefore, not only are you letting your hatred for Thor control your actions, but you’re setting a terrible precedent for the rest of your life. Every time a boss critiques your work or a passer-by hurls an insult, will you launch a personal vendetta on them? Tell me, do you see that resulting in a happy life?”

The dumbstruck male’s mouth worked and his wide eyes blinked rapidly as if trying to fend off the verbal blows. “I – I don’t – why –“

“You need to think about what kind of person you’re becoming. Think hard, because if you don’t change soon, Felicity won’t be the only friend to give you a black eye.” It was an educated guess, but it paid off, albeit only in getting a response.

“H-hey! You have no idea what happened with me and Feli, so don’t bring her into this!”

Loki bowed his head humbly. “That is true. I apologise. But my words are still true, and you know it.”

Kody wore a conflicted expression, defiance against acceptance. “You… you should get going, Loki.”

The artist turned to leave, pausing only to ask, “Will you think about it?”

“I… maybe.”

Nodding, Loki walked away, continuing down the path. Behind him, the conversation slowly grew softer.

“Way to back me up, Craig,” muttered a despondent Kody.

“Way to get your ass kicked, Kodz.”

“Why didn’t you help?”

“Cause he’s right.”

“No he’s not, I’m not like that… right?”

Even at a distance, Craig’s voice dripped with venom. “You’ve told me to shut up three times today. I don’t even know why I hang out with you.”

And the very last thing Loki heard was a very small yet oh-so momentous word.

“…Sorry.”

He allowed herself a little triumphant smile as the apartment buildings revealed themselves.

I must have set the lie density record for a conversation, but it was worth it.

An odd buzzing noise became apparent as he stepped inside the thin-walled structure. It seemed to come from upstairs, somewhere around room ten…

“Oh dear.” Loki’s eyes widened as he remembered the significant amount of artistic equipment in his room… all of which was under the supervision of a bored bass player. “Ohhhh dear.”

He bolted past a familiar odd female and into the stairwell, trying to climb quickly but carefully. About halfway up, additional sounds came into clarity. Electric, Bass… Acoustic?!

“That’s an antique, you foolish prude!” he hissed under his breath, picking up the pace.

How dare Thor go through his most precious belongings! How dare he try to play his acoustic! And… how dare he be rather good at it!

Charging down the hallway, the true artist skidded to a halt outside the door and pushed it open quickly, not giving any warning whatsoever so as to catch the privacy-invader in the act.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his guitar case completely untouched where he left it, but his focus was immediately drawn to the second computer desk, which was occupied by a toned male.

The music… it was all from Thor’s computer and mixing table. All of it, from electric to acoustic, orchestrated entirely from the computer. How could he possibly know how to combine them with such intricacy? It was a safe assumption to say that Thor had never sat through an entire piece of classical music in his life, yet here he was creating one. Where did such inspiration come from?

Loki’s bag slipped from his back with a silent thud against the carpet and he slowly closed the door so as not to disturb the artist at work.

Drawing may have been more than a hobby, and he certainly had skill with a pencil, but this was what Thor was born to do. It was obvious beyond question. His posture, loose yet focused, his movements, sharp with the precision of talent and experience combined, and his creation, awe-inspiring as it was, all served to prove that his talent suited him more than ever before.

As the song continued, looping and changing, improving with every iteration, Thor became increasingly agitated. He would shake his head as if to dislodge thoughts, and occasionally muttered something to himself.

The guitarist suddenly turned the volume up to indecent levels, seemingly making the entire building shake. Loki couldn’t help but jump at the sudden explosion of bass, but there was no way Thor could hear him over the music.

It was too loud to truly appreciate it, and the male seemed to share that opinion, turning it down once more. But he remained as frustrated as before, shifting in his seat restlessly. Loki watched his head bob almost hypnotically, synchronising with the music unintentionally.

In a flash, Thor slammed his fist down on the desk with a bang, and shouted “Damn it, go away!” before stuffing his head into his hands.

An icy bolt of fear struck Loki’s heart. Thor must have seen his reflection and realised he wasn’t alone. It was like being caught observing a private moment between lovers, no matter your true intentions they would think the worst of you.

“Sorry,” he said softly. “I… didn’t mean to interrupt.” Thor turned the music off with a desperate-looking pulse of effort and spun around to face his roommate. From the surprise painted on his features, it seemed Loki’s presumptions were incorrect.

The artist felt as though reality itself was holding its breath as a wondrous sight revealed itself to him. “Grey…” he whispered almost inaudibly.

“No! Uh, sorry. I wasn’t, uh, yelling at you.” The stronger male tried to chuckle, but his voice cracked and ruined any attempt at nonchalance.

Loki took a few steps closer. “I heard… your music,” he said, trying to fill the air with something resembling conversation, even though his focus was elsewhere.

Of course they would be grey.

Nobody had grey eyes, so of course he would have them.

Thor looked uncomfortable from the intense, unblinking gaze upon him, but the pale male couldn’t stop. For weeks he had wondered about them and tried to catch a glimpse. Those two, deep orbs that had eluded him for so long were now visible in their entirety.

And they were beautiful.

“Why do you wear glasses?” his own voice asked somewhere far away as he took another couple of steps towards the other male.

“I-I… uh…” Now Thor was the one who couldn’t look away, cornered as he was by the close proximity.

They stood less than a metre apart, steel reflecting emerald. The blonde looked almost frightened; without the shades to hide behind, there was nothing between them. Loki reached out and touched an alabaster cheek.

The bass player felt heat creep up the back of his neck, and all sounds grew softer. His roommate’s skin looked so soft… and his hand, gently holding him in place, as if he wanted to move, as if he would ever want to move again…

They stood for a moment, the room around them fading like a dream after waking. Worries and doubts flitted through the blonde-haired man, but those vague, mist-shrouded fears were burned away by the light from Loki’s eyes.

For his part, the artist had never felt more resolute in his life. It didn’t entirely make sense, not yet, but it felt right, and after a lifetime of trusting naught but facts and measurable phenomena taught in school, he decided that was enough, at least for now.

All that mattered was the last, slow steps that brought them face to face.

All that mattered was the musician’s shaking breath brushing against his chin.

All that mattered was closing the last… few… inches…

And all that mattered was the kiss.

 


	11. A Drop of Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

» The Book of Eternity

 **Chapter 11:** A Drop of Fear

\-----

Loki pulled back, startled out of his resolve by the pressure on his lips. “I’m so sorry, I – mmfgh!”

The blonde wasn’t about to let it end, not after this long, not after all those damn thoughts! This was one dream he would never let fade. He pushed forward, wrapping his arms around the pale male’s neck. The heat on his face spread through his entire body like a current of electricity, sparking off every nerve and twitching every muscle.

Faced as he was with a rather passionate assault, Loki stopped trying to retreat and instead attempted to weather the barrage. Occasionally he would reflexively try to kiss back, but it felt rather clumsy and uncoordinated, so for the most part he refrained.

Not that Thor was a master of lip-play; the blonde seemed convinced that as long as his lips were pressing against the general area of Loki’s mouth they were in the right place. The artist had read no small amount of guides for exactly this situation, but it was particularly difficult to recall any useful information when being subjected to such raw emotion.

Breathing heavily, they parted at last, this time for longer than a second. Thor’s bronze cheeks were flushed red and his expression was of confused surprise, as if shocked at his own actions. Loki couldn’t help but be a little curious himself. What had started as a dazed, half-considered desire had quickly become something more thanks to his enthusiasm.

“Sorry,” squeaked Thor, somehow managing two voice cracks in one word.

“I… am not,” replied the artist. Seeing his friend’s eyebrows rise slightly, he elaborated. “While I’m still not… not sure what to th-think, I would be lying if I told you I hated it. Um, make of that what you will.” He panted at the end, still short of breath.

The other male seemed to be struggling to form any words, licking his lips as if about to start speaking but ultimately remaining silent. Only the sound of his computer gently whirring nearby kept them from descending into true stillness.

“I’m not sure-“ he finally began, but his voice cracked again and he stopped, casting those garnet eyes around the room as if looking for an escape. “I mean, I don’t know-“ Another voice crack. He cleared his throat and swallowed. “I have no idea what I’m doing.” The musician gave a breathless laugh, apparently not addressing anybody in particular. “Ohhh God, what am I doing?” His eyes shot back to Loki. “What are we doing?”

Shrugging slightly, the artist could offer no adequate response. The answer eluded his as much as it did the other male. All he could do was watch the grey eyes that had captivated him to the point of near-delirium. They still held a subtle, almost hypnotising quality to them, bright as they were.

Loki forced himself to look away. “Thor…” he said quietly. “When… when I’ve been unsure about something in the past, my mother- oh sweet God my mother!” His eyes widened as he recalled the content of the last conversation he had shared with the older woman. “She’s going to murder me!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I just kissed-“ Catching himself, the artist lowered his voice considerably. “Because I just kissed a boy!” he hissed, looking around as though his mother was about to crawl out from beneath the bed and attack.

“How the hell is she gonna know that?” For once, the bass player was being the rational one.

“She’ll find out sooner or later. She always finds out everything sooner or later.” His voice was quiet, almost the tone of a frightened kitty.

“Wow. Okay, I think I’m getting a pretty clear idea of our childhood.”

Loki began to pace nervously. “Whenever I did something she didn’t like, I was whisked off to a psychologist. She would stare silently at me until I spilled every one of my secrets.”

“What?! Are you serious?” The blonde couldn’t help but feel guilty, remembering his first impression of the pale male as a stuck-up, boring snob. Of course he didn’t have much visible flavour; his individuality had been practically beaten out of him! No secrets, no hiding places, no thought to call his own… he didn’t grow up, he was grown. Anger rose within his like a leviathan from the ocean floor, centred on the misty silhouette of the ‘mother’.

“I’m afraid so. And… I think it’s gotten to the point where that’s the only way I can find resolution when I’m… not sure about things.” Loki deliberately looked everywhere but at the mare beside his.

Thor couldn’t help but feel hurt at that. As absurd as it was, it still hit hard realising that his dream might not be coming true after all. “Okay,” he said quietly.

“I’m sorry, Thor. I wish I could be like you and let everything slide, but… my head is just… filled with all these things and… I need to sort them out before… well, I don’t know. Before anything more.”

“It’s okay,” the musician repeated, this time with a small smile. “I did kinda lose control there. I shouldn’t have forced… I mean, I shouldn’t be so pushy when I’m as confused as you are.”

“Yes, well… what’s done is done, and now I would like to untangle my thoughts before I trip over them again.”

Loki hesitated in the silence that followed, but thought better of whatever crossed his mind and instead walked slowly to the door. Thor inwardly shouted at himself, unwilling to simply let the moment end. I can’t let him leave! He’ll never come back to me! As absurd as it was, that was the thought that made him speak. “Wait!” The smaller mare stopped mid-step and looked back nervously. Swallowing, the bass player realised the only way to avoid stammering like a little schoolgirl was to blurt it out. “I-didn’t-hate-it-either. Uh, the kissing, I mean. It was… wow.”

The only response Loki dared to give was a little, oddly grateful smile.

When the door shut quietly behind his, Thor was left alone once more with naught but a half-finished song on his computer… and an artist on his lips.

\---

The receptionist looked surprised despite the milling groups of students in the lobby. “Mr Loki? How may I be of service?”

Summoning his most convincing smile, the artist stepped up to the counter. “I was wondering if I could set up an appointment with the current student psychologist.”

“Certainly!” replied the receptionist, perhaps a little too eagerly for Loki’s liking. Most of the staff seemed to behave rather oddly around his, and he was starting to suspect involvement of the maternal kind. “We have a system that rotates all the-“

“Um, pardon me for interrupting, but I would like to make the appointment quickly.” He didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but the thought of his mother put him on edge.

“Oh of course! My deepest apologies, Mr Loki. I’ll just call her office and see if she’s free right now.” The assistant picked up a phone up to his ear and rapidly tapped at the keypad with his other hand. A trickle of sweat ran down the back of his neck. “Hello? Yes, this is reception. We have Loki here wondering when your next open slot is. Oh? Right now? Well, that’s very fortunate! I’ll send him right up.” Hanging up, he gave Loki another slightly-too-happy smile. “Well gosh, that was lucky! Just head up the stairs over there and take a right. It’s the last room on the right.”

“Thank… you?” Slightly bewildered yet grateful for the prompt service nonetheless, the artist followed the directions, marvelling as middle aged administration workers and highly-trained lecturers stepped out of his way politely. It was like one of those jokes from high school that everybody got except him, and just as frustrating.

Just before he reached the office, a male was shoved out of it. It was the same person from Thor’s art class, only looking slightly more haggard. “Hey, I wasn’t done talking yet!” he said angrily. After a muffled reply from within the office, he rolled his eyes and trudged down the hall, shoving past Loki.

While not entirely sure what to make of that little encounter, the artist did his best to ignore it. As much as he wanted to let his mind run away on a tangent trying to figure out the rude ejection of that man, he couldn’t afford to avoid his own problems… especially since he was now living with one of them.

 Oh God, how can I even face him again after that?

The office was small, almost cramped, with most of the available space taken up by a large desk positioned by chairs on either side of it. The women behind it was doubled over, flicking through files in a drawer. Her frizzy red hair bobbed in a very familiar way, and as she sat upright and deposited a file on the desk, he saw why.

“Hey there Loki!” Cameron beamed. “Ready to knock your school worries on the head?”

“Not with you.” He turned to leave.

“Hey, wait a second! I’m just as qualified as every other psychologist on the roster,” she said defensively.

“Yes, and you also spent most of this semester encouraging me to fight with another student.”

Wincing, the tutor-and-councillor scratched the back of her head guiltily. “When you put it that way it sounds mean, but it was all just a bit of fun! You could have told me to stop at any moment. Besides, that stopped weeks ago.”

“Regardless, I… don’t think I can discuss this particular problem with you.” Loki felt rather guilty himself; who was he to be picky with psychologists?

 After a moment’s silence, Cameron leaned forward. “Does it involve Thor?” she asked quietly.

He nodded. Everything involves Thor.

“Loki…” he sighed. “Look, I want to help you with whatever is wrong, but I’ll need you to trust me. I realise I don’t present the most… professional image in class, but I take my duties very seriously.”

The artist looked at her face, but found no trace of mirth there. Not a twitch at the corner of her mouth nor a twinkle in her eyes. “Alright…” he said cautiously, closing the door and taking a seat.

“So.” She crossed her legs. “What’s up?”

Oh crap, now he had to actually tell her.

“I… suppose I should explain a few things first.” The charade came crashing down. “Thor and I are friends. We’ve been friends since the first assignment. We knew each other as kids at one point, but…” He sighed and jammed his eyes shut. “You were right; we had a lot more in common than we thought.”

When no response was given, he peeked at the woman. Her expression was unchanged and she made no indication that she was about to capitalise on the confession. Encouraged by her professionalism, he continued.

“We… we’ve actually become quite close over the last few weeks. I’m not sure what you know from that file, but I didn’t have any friends in high school. Thor offered a hand of friendship and I seized it with all of my might. I thought I was being a little possessive of him, but lately I’ve been wondering if he was just as lonely as me. Anyway, that doesn’t matter now.” He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. It didn’t work. “What matters is that we’ve become such close friends that Thor even managed to convince the student coordinator to let him move in with me.”

Loki allowed himself a little smile. “It has been wonderful. I’ve never felt so close to somebody who isn’t family before. Or… well no, I think I feel closer to him than my family.”

Cameron smiled as well, but it was understanding and genuine rather than mocking. “I’m glad to hear that.”

His smile faltered. “But… it’s changed. I still feel very close to him, but it’s… I’m not even sure what it is. I want to spend as much time with him as I can, just like before, but now I’m not thinking about companionship or watching a movie together or joking in the Tavern. I find myself thinking about… about how soft his hands are and how his skin looks like powdered diamond… and… and…” He surprised himself by sniffing back a tear. The woman across from him pushed a tissue box forward but he shook his head. “No, it’s okay, I’m fine. I shouldn’t even be crying, this isn’t sad.”

“People don’t just cry when they’re sad. They can cry from happiness, from fear, or even from love. Please don’t hold back if you feel the need. Tears can help more than you might think.” Her voice was calm, kind, her tone one of simple understanding. It was odd coming from the normally-energetic tutor, but it helped nonetheless.

He took a tissue gratefully. “Thank you.” After a few seconds to gather his thoughts, the artist soldiered onwards. “I… I’m not quite as naïve as many people think. I know what these feelings for Thor are, in essence, even if… even if I’m not quite ready to admit them yet. The problem is that I’ve never liked anybody in this way before, especially not a m-man.”

Taking a moment to consider his words, Cameron reclined back in her chair. “Realising one’s sexuality is rarely a straightforward process. Ah, pardon the pun.” She reddened slightly but the accepting male didn’t penalise her for it, instead looking out the window at the grassy court. “And coupled with the fact that Thor is your first true friend, I can only imagine how conflicted you must feel. However, you’ve maintained perfect composure during class despite this. I must tentatively conclude that something has happened, an event of sorts, to make you seek outside help.”

Loki nodded, still looking away. “I… saw him without those glasses of his for the first time. I never thought of myself as the type to be entranced easily, but…”

“Ah. Did he notice you staring? Or did you… do something?”

“I did something,” he whispered.

“What happened?” the tutor asked quietly.

“I kissed him.” Saying it out loud seemed to consolidate a million thoughts at once. He kissed Thor. On the lips. His first kiss ever was with a male, and not just that, but his best friend too.

“And… what was Thor’s reaction?” Cameron almost seemed to brace himself.

Loki couldn’t help but blush, remembering the sudden, insistent pressure on his lips and the taste of Thor and the feel of his breath as he desperately kept pushing. “He kissed me back.”

“Well, I might be getting rusty, but that sounds like a good thing.”

“It is… and it isn’t. There are too many things in play here; my mother, the other students, my studies… It’s too much to process at once.”

“So don’t process it,” she suggested simply. At his raised eyebrow, she elaborated. “Don’t over think it. I know for a fact you are blasting through schoolwork much faster than your tutors can issue it. Your mother is all the way up at her estate, last I heard, and even if she found out the second you kissed Thor it would take a few days for her to get her affairs in order before travelling down here. The other students have their own problems, trust me, I’ve spoken to hundreds of them.”

“What should I do then?” Loki dropped the tissue in a small bin and straightened his hair.

“Take a few weeks off studying altogether. Two, to be precise.”

“But exams are in three weeks!” exclaimed the artist.

“Yes they are, and you are so ridiculously prepared for them that they might as well be kindergarten crayon colouring competitions. Trust me, you’ll be fine. Go to lectures and tutorials like usual, take notes, but leave it at that. You have more important things to put energy into.” The orange-haired woman gave a smile reminiscent of her usual demeanour.

“I think you’re the first teacher to ever tell me not to study, but very well. What should I do in that time?”

“Talk to Thor. Tell him what’s going through your mind. I think he likes you quite a bit.”

As giddy as that thought made him feel, Loki wasn’t done. “So I’m supposed to just talk for two weeks?”

He waved a hand. “Get dinner together, go see movies, all that stuff. Just spend time with him and your conflicted feelings will resolve themselves.”

“Is it really that easy?” he asked hopefully.

“It can be, if you let it. Remember, don’t over think everything, just do anything. Or, ‘don’t think, just do’. Let your natural response be your actual response, and you’ll see the truth.” She blinked. “Hey, that was pretty good. You can quote me on that, if you like.”

They chuckled together, and the artist felt better with every laugh. Simply voicing all of his worries, having somebody to confide in, was making all the difference.

I like Thor, but there is- stop.

“I like Thor,” he said, starting to beam.

“Perhaps you should tell him that?” replied Cameron with a wink.

I want to be with him right now, but this- stop.

“That is an excellent idea!” He slid off the chair and walked over to the door, pausing only to look over his shoulder. “Thank you.” He nodded and waved as he left the room.

When the footsteps had faded from earshot, she slowly opened the file. On top of several detailed pages of psychological evaluations was a little yellow sticky note, one she had noticed before but always ignored.

_Cameron,_

_You’ll let me know if my Loki comes to see you while you’re on councillor duty, won’t you?_

_Especially if it is in regards to his brother, Thor._

_It would be ever so sweet of you._

_-S_

For a long moment, she stared at the words, their perfect hand-written style reminding her of the man who’d just left. Every curl and flick was flawless, every word possessing weight beyond its appearance.

Then, with a casual brush of her right hand, the note was peeled away and sent fluttering into the air, twirling and spiralling downwards until it came to rest beside a tissue at the bottom of a small bin.

“Oops,” she whispered, closing the file once more.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friendly reminder that I will be on a short hiatus while I collaborate some ideas. :)


	12. The Beginning of my End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A refined male fresh out of high school and a dropout following his dreams find themselves forced to spend a lot of time together.
> 
> With the help of a meddling psychology tutor and their new classmates, can they find what they've been looking for?

» The Book of Eternity

 **Chapter 12:**   The Beginning of my End

\-----

Thor had never felt more nervous in his life. Or more excited.

He hadn’t moved since Loki left. He couldn’t move. Every muscle was frozen, each foot rooted to the ground by thoughts.

He said he liked it.

The bass player licked his lips again, as he had been doing for the past half hour, but he tasted naught but skin.

No, he said he didn’t hate it. There’s a difference. He was just trying to spare my feelings.

But that painful thought was quickly obliterated by virtue of a simple fact.

He kissed me first.

Finally, a grin broke through his conflicted expression. As the sun finally broke through the clouds outside and shone through the window, so too did that simple reality burn away his shadowed doubts and worries. No matter what happened when Loki got back, he would always have that knowledge.

Thor trudged over to the computer. He didn’t feel like making music anymore, the reason being that what had started as an escape from reality had accidentally turned into the biggest reminder in the room, so he simply saved her progress and powered down his equipment.

Without the gentle whirring of his computer, the room seemed oddly muffled. The absence of noise was just as distracting as having the volume on maximum.

“Hurry up, man…” he said, immediately feeling stupid as soon as the words left his mouth.

Yeah, hurry up and deal with your emotional issues (which I probably caused by the way) and get back here because I’m lonely.

“Why am I such an idiot?” The musician whispered, smacking his face with a hand.

Before any suitable answer could present itself, the stifling silence was broken by the turning of a handle. He held his breath as the dark-haired male on whom all his thoughts were focused entered the room.

The artist was smiling, but Thor was too nervous to return it. Swallowing, he decided to let his roommate speak first. It was a tense few moments as Loki closed the door and walked over to him, each second an eternity, each footstep a thunderclap.

But no words ever came. Instead, there was a blur of motion and the sudden feeling of warmth against his chest. Thor hugged him back without a second thought, finally letting a smile slip out.

“I’m guessing you feel better now?” chuckled the bass player.

Loki squeezed even harder, pressing his cheek into the other male’s white sweater. “Mmh-hmm.”

Thor couldn’t help but inhale as much of the artist’s scent as possible, trying to commit it to memory forever. There were no defining traits of the smell, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of enough words to describe it. All that came to mind was a name.

It encapsulated everything the scent meant, every feeling it induced within him, all the fury and want and innocent desire he had denied for weeks, in a single word.

“Loki,” he said shakily, closing his eyes in order to reinforce the feeling of delicate skin against him.

“Yes, Thor?” replied the male in question.

“Please tell me this means what I think it means.”

They pulled back in unison so they could see each other’s face. The guitarist slowly raised his head to meet the artist’s gaze.

“What do you think it means?” he asked as Thor desperately tried not to get lost in the endless vortex of his eyes.

His heart pounding in his ears, Thor tried to form the words that had seemed so simple a few minutes ago. “Y-you… like…”

“I like you.”

The statement sent heat rushing over the musician’s body, but he had to be sure. “Like like?”

“Like like,” giggled the artist.

And so the time for words drew to a close. Thor celebrated the occasion by pushing forward and kissing his roommate as hard as he could. Loki squeaked in surprise, but didn’t try to pull away.

The room was quiet but for the sound of locked lips, heavy breathing, and the quietest vocalisations of happiness. It was a moment that they could never lose, one that would define their bond in the coming days.

Standing as they were in the dusty glass-filtered sunlight, it looked as though a new dawn had arrived, marking their beginning with its own.

It was only when a slightly less-than-refined noise escaped Loki’s mouth did they recall their senses.

The offending male cleared his throat as even more blood rushed to his cheeks. “L-let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.”

Thor leaned in to nuzzle him. “Not a chance,” he whispered through his smile.

Loki stepped backwards out of Thor’s reach, panting slightly. “I think we need to stop for a little while. I, um, haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

For a few seconds, Thor contemplated pushing forward and continuing. Something about the artist’s body language told him such actions wouldn’t receive many objections. But wasn’t being pushy the reason Loki got stressed out in the first place? No, this time he would do things right.

“Wanna head out and get something then?”

Grateful for the few seconds to catch his breath, the pale male raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. “Do you have anywhere in mind?”

“How about we just go walking and see where we end up?” suggested Thor, grabbing his glasses over from his desk.

“That sounds perfect.” But as Thor made for the door, Loki stepped in his path. “Um, do you think you could leave your glasses here?”

Huh?

“Why?”

The artist sheepishly played with his hair. “Because… you have very pretty eyes. They shouldn’t be hidden away.”

Thor’s mouth worked, but nothing came out. In his eighteen years of existence, nobody, nobody, had ever complimented his eyes. At least, not sincerely. While he had been lucky enough to escape most teasing during highschool, there had still been a few incidents.

But, at least for a moment, the bass player forgot all about those people from his past. Instead, he removed the glasses and set them down once more. He suddenly felt very vulnerable from the reminder of how the world looked behind tinted glass. “Really?” he asked in a small voice.

The other male must have sensed the change in mood, for he quickly moved closer. “Thor, they are beautiful.” He touched Thor’s cheek. “You are beautiful.”

“As corny as that was… thanks.” They moved forward simultaneously for a quick peck, careful not to get carried away again.

“Well,” Loki adjusted his hair once more, “Shall we?”

\---

As expected, the streets were still cold and grey. An icy wind ripped through all who dared to venture outside, sending papers and hair alike into disarray.  Most of the stores were open, but the cafes had all moved their tables inside and closed their shutters. From behind each door, the warm glow of light beckoned.

But Thor was just fine where he was, walking beside a certain pale male trying desperately to salvage his hair.

“This was an awful idea,” he called over the wind.

“Just let it go!” replied the laughing guitarist.

“I’ll look ridiculous!”

“There’s nobody around, who cares?”

With a final, futile attempt to wrangle his hair, the artist sighed in defeat and lowered his hand. Within seconds, his charcoal hair was billowing freely behind him. “I feel ridiculous,” he sulked.

“Oh come on, my hair’s going crazy too.”

Loki gave him a flat look. “Your hair is crazy whether the wind is blowing or not. The difference is that it suits you.”

The guitarist grinned and bumped his bottom against the other male, eliciting an amusing squeak. “You can fix everything when we get to… wherever we’re going. Until then, be free, young one!”

Though he returned the grin after a moment’s hesitation, it quickly took on a more… sinister appearance. Without thinking, Loki darted closer and bit lightly on the bass player’s exposed ear. It took less than a second, but the results were substantial. Thor stumbled and tripped over his own feet, dazed look on his face. The feeble male started to giggle, but stopped abruptly as his brain caught up with his actions.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” He quickly helped his roommate stand back up. His freckled cheeks were red, probably from hitting the ground, but otherwise there were no visible injuries.

“That… was straight-up mean.” The guitarist tried to look angry, but he couldn’t hold back a smirk.

If the artist was one of those people who had unclean thoughts, he would have wondered if Thor liked being bitten on the ear. Thankfully, he was not one of those people, and he definitely didn’t wonder anything of the sort.

Thor turned his attention back to the road ahead. To his relief, he saw an enticing little diner on the corner of the street. It was one of the older kinds (or made to look that way) with red seats lining little booths, a long bar in the centre from which to order, and checkered floors that gave the whole building a decidedly old-fashioned atmosphere. One that the guitarist, despite his love of technology, felt instantly attracted to.

An old-fashioned date in an old-fashioned diner. I bet Loki will love this!

“What do you think about this place?” he asked nonchalantly.

Loki raised an eyebrow at the building in question, but soon broke into a warm smile. “It does have a certain charm about it.”

The two males entered quickly through the door, eager to escape the cold. As expected, it was like walking into an open room on a summer day. Loki immediately set to work trying to restore his hair to at least a semi-presentable state, while Thor made a beeline for a middle booth that looked out onto the street.

Most of the tables and booths were occupied by other people who had also decided to take refuge from the weather. Their conversations and presence served to make the whole place feel welcoming.

Thor sat down and scooted over so the window was right next to him, intentionally making his roommate choose between sitting beside or across from him. To his unspoken delight, Loki sat down next to him and moved close enough that they would be nose-to-nose if they turned towards each other.

To hide his ear-to-ear grin, the blonde looked out the window into the darkening street. Unaware of his friend’s joy as he was, Loki cleared his throat nervously and whispered, “Am I too close?”

The high walls between each booth would prevent the other patrons from seeing, so Thor turned back and daringly snaked his arm around the pale male’s waist, pulling him close for a quick side-hug. “Babe, you can never be too close to me.”

Loki smirked and risked a quick peck on Thor’s cheek, causing them both to break out in barely-stifled laughter. Only the sudden proximity of a waiter broke them out of their mirth. “What can I get the two of you?” he asked, wearing a smirk that said he hadn’t missed a thing.

“Uh, I’ll have… y’know, I don’t actually know what’s on the menu. Any recommendations?” Thor tried to remain nonchalant as he subtly removed his hand from the other male’s waist.

“Well, our dinner menu has everything from boar roast to pumpkin soup. Or,” he added slyly, “We have a ‘couple’s special’ that might interest you.” Loki’s eyes darted down and he looked around as though someone else would be hiding in the booth. Thor just gave him a flat, unamused stare. He raised an eyebrow, then blinked in understanding. “Oh, my apologies. Still… er… undercover, are you? Not that it’s any of my business, of course.” The man lowered his voice. “But would you like the couple’s special?”

Since the artist couldn’t quite bring himself to look him in the eyes, Thor answered for him in the form of a slight nod. The waiter winked and quickly walked out of sight.

“I’m sorry, Thor,” Loki said guiltily. “I’m being rather… obvious, aren’t I?” He slid away slightly so they weren’t quite as close.

“Hey, I’m not exactly keeping things on the down-low either. We just gotta be careful.” The guitarist shuddered. “Can you imagine what it would be like if Cameron found out?”

“Awful, I’d imagine.” Loki hid his small smile under the pretence of looking out of the booth for the tutor.

“Yeah, and that Annie chick too. She’s such a b-“

“Language! We’re in public.”

“Oh, right.” Scratching the back of his head, Thor grinned sheepishly. “Well, she is.”

The artist shrugged, deciding not to take a side until he knew the results of his last encounter with the (admittedly uncivilised) mint-haired lady. After all, Loki knew what it was like to be judged without question. The least he could do was try and prevent the cycle from continuing.

By the time their meal arrived, the sun had completely vanished from view, cloaking the street outside in pitch black fog punctuated by the occasional streetlamp. But their attention was far from the miserable weather.

Two bowls of soup had been placed before them, bringing an intense, spicy aroma to the booth. Loki had been cautious, but upon tasting it he found it was barely classable as hot. Confused as he was by the contrast between taste and scent, he was unable to name a single ingredient in it. The taste was odd, but far from unpleasant, strangely similar to his first kiss with Thor. The thought sent a wave of heat up his neck, which the bass player noticed.

“Spice finally kicking in, huh? Lucky, mine is pathetic.” He spooned another helping into his mouth. “Still pretty good though.”

“Ah, yes. The spice.” The artist dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “Well, perhaps it will keep us warm when we walk home.”

Thor winced, looking outside. “Oh jeez, I forgot about that. I think we’ll need something a lot stronger in our stomachs.” A thought struck him and he turned to his roommate. “Hey, when’s your birthday again?”

“Oh… soon.”

“Come on, tell me. I remembered it was a couple of weeks away when we first went to the Tavern, and that was like three months ago.”

“Well we had only just met again after all this time, I wasn’t about to remind you when my birthday was,” replied Loki indignantly, as though birthdays were somehow sacred knowledge.

Thor rolled his eyes. “I think we’ve gotten reacquainted  pretty well by now.”

The artist reddened once more and told himself it was the soup. “Alright then, if you insist. My birthday is in three weeks, just after the exams.”

“Sweet! I’ll throw a party for you!” The musician began to get excited at the prospect, which made Loki feel even more ashamed of his next words.

“Um, Thor… who would I invite?”

After a moment, his roommate visibly slumped, only to perk back up seconds later. “It can just be the two of us! We’ll have our own party, with card games and booze.”

“A whole day with you? Why Thor, it’s just what I wanted,” the pale male covered his mouth with his hands in mock excitement.

“Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Trust me, it’ll be awesome.”

As their bowls ran dry and the diner began to empty, the pair decided to begin the long walk home. The pale one looked into the darkness and shivered. “W-we need to buy boots,” he whispered.

“And s-s-scarves,” agreed the tan one.

For a couple of minutes, they walked in silence save for the chattering of teeth and the slow trudging of feet on pavement. Thor couldn’t help but chuckle at the silliness of their situation. “If we freeze to death in the middle of Asgard, I’m gonna be so angry.” Loki didn’t reply, instead moving closer to his roommate, enjoying the warmth radiating off him. “Heh, good idea. Nice old-fashioned body heat. Always good to fall back on. Can’t go wrong with it, that’s for sure.” The bass player realised he was babbling and swallowed nervously. After that weird taste-defying soup, he was starting to have some very interesting thoughts, and it wasn’t helping that the subject of many of them was practically pressed up against him.

Apparently the other male was feeling something similar, for he moved closer and rubbed his cheek against Thor’s neck. His eyes were closed and a silly smile made it clear that he wasn’t thinking quite as logically as normal.

Oh God he’s so soft…

“You alright there, Loki?” As much as he hated to interrupt, this wasn’t the way he wanted… whatever was happening.

The charcoal-haired male seemed to snap out of his daze, quickly halting his happy nuzzling. “Hm? Oh, I’m sorry. I… lost track of my thoughts for a second.”

“Yeah, me too. I think that dude wasn’t kidding when he said ‘couple’s special’.” Thor forced a laugh to keep his thoughts from straying.

“What do you mean?” Loki decided to play dumb, hoping his blush wasn’t visible in the night.

“Well… don’t you feel… y’know…” He raked his mind for the right word. “Frisky?”

“I… was blaming that on being in close proximity to you,” he admitted.

A triumphant grin split Thor’s lips and he puffed his chest out. “Yeah, I have that effect on people.”

“Oh, shush you.” Loki lightly shoved the male away.

The campus was far better lit than the city, for which they were grateful. The only sounds were from a few drunken revellers stumbling from the direction of the university tavern. Loki shook his head and sighed. Some students just didn’t know how to spend an evening.

By the time they stumbled through the doorway into their room, most of the weird feelings had subsided. All that was left was a sleepy feeling of contentedness. This time, as he leaned against Thor, he yawned and tried to move closer.

The bass player chuckled and spoke so softly that it was hard to tell if he meant for him to hear. “You’re so cute.” Thor led him over to a bed, not really caring about who it belonged to. “Come on, I’m feeling pretty tired too.”

Loki did as he was directed, crawling beneath the covers and curling up. Even after the blanket was pulled up, he shivered slightly.

He frowned in thought for a moment, but the solution quickly presented itself. With a pulse of tired effort, the bass player lifted the blanket from the other bed and brought it over, giving the artist another layer. Apparently, he wasn’t completely checked out yet, as he raised his neck in concern. “But you’ll be cold,” he said softly.

Thor shrugged. “Hey, I’ve slept on the street before. This is fine.”

“No. Get in.”

It took an entire millisecond before the musician gave in to his roommate’s demand. “Well, if you insist.” He struggled to suppress his grin as he slid in beside Loki, loving the warmth of both the blankets and the male.

His own questionable feelings had fled as well, but what remained was no less powerful. Here he was, cuddling with the person who had plagued his dreams for so long. How many of those dreams had ended like this, only for him to awake and find his bed empty? He squeezed harder, refusing to let go. If this was a dream, then he never wanted to wake up.

“Do you know what the strangest thing about this is?” whispered Loki.

Thor shook his head slightly. “What?”

The artist snuggled closer to his bass player.

“It doesn’t feel strange at all.”

 


	13. Lightless Nights

**» The Book of Eternity**

**Chapter 13:** Lightless Nights

\-----

As Thor emerged from the depths of sleep, that one fact remained at the front of his mind.

He had a dreamless night, and he knew why. For the last couple of weeks, every night had been plagued with the same nocturnal hallucinations: lightning amongst darkness… and a person by his side.

A pale one, specifically, of the frost giant variety.

But last night he had slept peacefully, and it was with a big smile that he reached out to hug the reason why. When his hands grasped nothing but disturbed sheets, the blonde’s eyes shot open, revealing the empty space beside him.

His heart jumped, and for a moment he felt an indescribable sadness begin to weigh down on him as the events of the previous night were suddenly called into question. “No,” he whispered, eyes watering, “Not again, please…”

The door to the bathroom opened, unleashing a small wave of steam that rolled across the floor. Loki stepped through it, his hair slicked to his glistening skin. He hummed softly, completely unaware of the silver eyes watching from one of the beds.

That is, until the person they belonged to dove across the room in a single leap and tackled him.

Loki suddenly had to deal with a very happy blonde lying on top of him. Thor didn’t care that his skin was also getting quite wet from hugging the freshly-showered male, or that lying on the floor was probably taking away the very thing his friend had just spent a while attaining. All he cared about in that moment was knowing that Loki was real, that the night he remembered had actually happened, that his wish had been granted.

The artist didn’t know all of this, so he was in quite a bewildered state when Thor drew back slightly to see his face. “I suppose I can expect this kind of greeting every day?” he said half-seriously.

Chuckling awkwardly, Thor had finally woken up entirely and realised what he was doing. “Heh, sorry. I sorta… panicked when you weren’t there.” It sounded so stupid to his ears now that he was thinking clearly, but Loki didn’t seem to think so.

He pulled Thor down and kissed him deeply, hoping to assuage the tanned male’s fears in a way that words couldn’t hope to emulate. It worked. Thor sighed into the kiss, his body relaxing almost immediately. They remained that way for a good few seconds, but as always it came to an end too soon. This time, however, it was for a very good reason.

Loki pulled his lips away, cursing the heat upon his cheeks. “Um, Thor, not to be rude or anything, but perhaps you should brush your teeth first?”

“Oh! Yeah, right, sorry!” Thor said, wondering if it was possible to explode from sheer embarrassment.

What was I thinking? I’m not a movie star! I’m gross in the morning like everybody else!

He untangled his legs and stumble-tripped his way into the bathroom. As he quickly set to work brushing, he watched Loki get up and adjust his hair. Then, to his unspoken internal glee, he watched Loki cast a very questionable look his way. For a moment, he considered trying to say “Like what you see?” around a mouthful of toothpaste, but thought better of it. He’d embarrassed himself enough for one morning.

Once finished, he bounded out the doorway with a huge grin. “Now, where were we?” Loki had wandered over to Thor’s bed and was in the process of pulling one of the blankets off. “Uh, what are you doing?”

“Reclaiming my blanket. If somebody saw my bed like that, I’d be ashamed.”

His enthusiasm fading, Thor pawed at the floor with his foot. “So… you’re sleeping in your bed tonight?”

“Is that a problem?” Loki frowned and stopped to look at the bass player.

“No… not really… But, uh, I was sorta thinking we could, uh…” he trailed off, looking everywhere but at the other male.

“Sleep together?” asked Loki quietly.

Thor nodded, but upon seeing the blush in his roommate’s cheeks, he quickly clarified. “I mean, just sleep! I didn’t mean, uh, anything else. U-unless you want that. But if you don’t, that’s fine! I only meant sleep.” The situation was slipping out of his hands now that that topic had been awoken. He couldn’t help but wonder why his impressive social skills had recently begun to desert him in times of need.

“Um, perhaps we should discuss this tonight. It’s a little early in the day to be talking about… about this stuff.” Listening to his artist, Thor experienced a brief moment of relief as he realised that he was not the only one who was feeling a little uncomfortable. Loki bit his lip. “That being said… I did enjoy waking up next to you.” He smiled at the memory. “You kept squeezing me and grinning in your sleep. It took half an hour to escape your arms.”

Thor chuckled and shrugged, not the least bit surprised. “I’d probably have done that whether I was asleep or not,” he admitted.

Giggling, Loki left the blanket where it was, to be dealt with later. He wandered over to Thor and planted a tentative kiss on his cheek. “So, breakfast?”

Resisting the urge to smother the artist’s mouth with kisses, Thor grinned. “Starving.”

\---

As midday approached and breakfast became a memory, Thor had been forced to grudgingly excuse himself in order to attend his drawing class. Loki had offered his services as a model again, but the class had apparently moved on to different subjects. That hadn’t stopped the blonde from slyly suggesting he might take his up the offer later tonight, which left the artist a blushing wreck long after the conversation had ended.

Loki tried to suppress his unrestrainable smile. His cheeks ached and he was certain he looked like a complete fool, but there was no stopping it. As he wandered across the grassy court in the middle of the campus, he felt a happiness like no other flood every fibre of his being.

It was as if the universe had finally decided to go easy on him for once. After the years of loneliness in high school and the constant over watch of his mother, he had reached the end of the tunnel, and the light was so bright. No longer would there be a little thought in the back of his mind that said “you’re alone, Loki” when it was late at night. No longer would he cry himself to sleep at the thought of sitting by himself at lunchtime.

It was over.

And it had just begun.

He soon realised he was approaching the same building Cameron worked in. Deciding that he agreed with his subconscious mind, the pale male stepped inside and approached the receptionist. Cameron had helped him past the barriers his mind had constructed, and was every bit as responsible for his happiness as Thor was. Well, maybe slightly less responsible, but she played a part nonetheless, and he wanted to make sure she knew what it meant to him.

“Hello again, Mr Loki! How may I help you?” the reception lady asked cheerfully.

“Hello, I was wondering if Cameron is available.”

“She most certainly is! Just head on up and I’ll call her to let her know you’re coming!” The woman grinned, baring her perfect teeth.

“T-thank you.” Loki quickly escaped her rather unsettling gaze and made a beeline for the tutor’s office.

Just like before, the office workers stepped out of his way politely. He internally wondered why it was so off-putting. Yes, students were supposed to give way to teachers and workers out of respect for some unspoken social hierarchy, but maybe Asgard University was a progressive institute that sought to abolish such behaviour. Perhaps the staff were merely doing their part to uphold a core belief or code established by the faculty; ‘making way’ for the younger, innovative people?

Loki suddenly became aware he had been staring at the door to Cameron’s office for slightly longer than was socially acceptable, and was holding up traffic in the hallway. Though from one glance at the waiting students, he could almost believe that they had all the time in the world. Not one of them made a move to hurry him up.

Mumbling an embarrassed apology, Loki pushed through the door and closed it behind him. The frizzy-haired woman waiting for him waved cheerfully.

“Hey Loki! I’m glad you’re here. Sorta. If you have any problems, then I’m not glad you’re here. I mean, I’m glad you chose me to help with those problems. But I’m glad if you… don’t have… problems?” She frowned, then made a circular motion with her hand as if winding back a clock. “Hey Loki!” she repeated, this time not adding to it.

“Hello, Cameron,” he replied. It felt odd calling a teacher by their name, but he pushed past it. There were more important things to talk about.

As he took the seat on the opposite side of her desk, she busied herself pulling out her file once more. “So, what can I help you with?” Her expression was odd, caught between her default energetic mode and the serious, unflinching psychologist who had listened to a hundred sob stories.

“Thankfully, nothing.” He smiled, which collapsed her into the former state. “I did exactly what you said.” It all came rushing back, and he tried to tell the story as fast as it crossed his mind. “I went back to Thor and hugged him and he asked me if it meant what he thought it meant and I asked him what he thought it meant even though I already knew and he started to say ‘you like me’, but he took too long and I was so excited so I just said ‘I like you’ and he said ‘like like?’ and I said ‘like like’ and then we kissed properly and it was amazing!” He bounced in his seat a little, wearing a grin that stretched ear to ear. He didn’t even care how silly he looked.

“That’s fantastic news! I’m so happy for both of you!” Cameron chuckled. “I’m always paranoid that I’ve given bad advice, so it’s good to see it turned out well.”

“On the contrary, your advice was perfect. That’s actually why I’m here. I…” He took deep breath. “I’m happier than I have ever been in my entire life.” It was a fact that brought mixed emotions. On one hand, he had all those miserable memories. But on the other hand, they were gone, never to return. “You helped me get here, Cameron. “

He slid off his chair and walked around the desk. The older woman looked a little uncomfortable for a moment, but relaxed when he hugged her, and hesitantly returned it.

No doubt Thor would probably think hugging a teacher is about as lame as it gets, yet not even the thought of the musician’s voice-cracking laughter could ruin his good mood.

“Thank you,” he whispered, pulling back and standing up straight once more. To his surprise, he thought he saw a sparkling tear in the tutor’s eyes, but she blinked and it was gone.

“Only doing my job, nothing more,” she said with a warm smile. When Loki returned to his chair, her mirth slipped away. “So… I don’t suppose you’ve heard from…”

“My mother?” He shook his head. “No, but I’m not going to count the days until she calls.”

“I’m glad to hear that. With any luck, you’ll be able to get to Christmas without hearing from her.”

“Somehow I doubt that… but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” The artist nodded resolutely. His mother was bad enough face to face, he didn’t need the very thought of her ruining everything.

“I can definitely see the change in attitude, and I love it!” Cameron laughed and clapped her hands together. “You must like being with Thor a lot if you can change your thought processes so quickly.”

Loki reddened but nodded. “I do. I feel so normal when I’m around him.” His eyes widened. “Not that he’s abnormal or anything! I just mean that… well, I don’t feel like an outcast. He accepts me for who I am without a second thought. It’s such a nice feeling being with someone who knows me, truly knows me, not just a group of people who have been forced to work with me by teachers who think they’re helping.” Cameron coughed. “I remember watching all the other people in high school, with all their stupid groups and styles, and I used to think that if I wanted to, I could change myself enough that I would fit into one of those groups. But I never did.”

“You didn’t want to compromise what little individuality you had left,” the woman said in understanding.

Loki nodded again. “Yes, exactly. I resigned myself to loneliness instead of giving up who I was. But with Thor, I can have both. I can be myself and have somebody who cares about me. It’s quite literally a dream come true.”

“I’m proud of you, Loki. Your file here has listed some awful things that your mother made you share, things that only you should have the right to know. Yet even after how she’s treated you, you’ve still managed to keep yourself together. I’ve seen kids break down after far less than what you’ve experienced, yet here you are, happy. It’s… admirable.”

After a long moment, Cameron shook her head violently and blinked a few times. “Wow, I think that’s the most serious I’ve ever been.” She chuckled. “You’re going to ruin my reputation, at this rate.”

“My apologies,” the artist laughed. “And thank you, for what you said.” He dropped off the chair once again, stretching his legs. “Now, I had better get going before we get trapped in a loop of mutual admiration.”

“A wise decision, those things are never fun.”

With a final wave, Loki left the office and made his way back through the building. The receptionist threw a plastic smile his way, which he nervously returned. Once outside in the cool air, he found himself wandering a path not often taken. It led down a slope into a less-populated area of the campus, where a series of little alcoves hid the entrances to multiple storage and maintenance rooms.

For no reason other than lack of having anything else to do (in addition to having his ‘playful curiosity’ levels dramatically increased from time spent with Thor), he walked down the path until something caught his interest. A voice was echoing out of an alcove further down, and it sounded strained.

Loki slowed his movement, trying to remain silent as the hidden person’s one-sided conversation became audible.

“No, please don’t hang up…” sniffed a familiar male.

Kody? What’s he doing down here?

“Please, Feli, just listen to me. I swear I’m different now.”

Loki’s eyes widened and he retreated as quickly as he could, trying to balance speed with silence. That conversation was not for his ears.

Thor’s privacy was the only one he ever allowed himself to breach, and even then he didn’t really do anything bad. Thor’s phone didn’t have anything even remotely embarrassing or personal.

At the top of the slope, just before entering back into the huge court, Loki heard footsteps behind him. Trying to look as casual as possible, he stood next to the wall and scratched his chin as if deep in thought.

Kody soon appeared at the bottom of the slope, aggressively scrubbing at his eyes as he walked upwards. When he reached the top, rather than looking in the hundreds of other possible directions, the mint-green haired male looked straight at Loki.

“Uh, what are you doing here?” he asked. His eyes were still a little red from crying, and the moonlight-skinned male couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him.

“I’m simply pondering the mysteries of life.” He scratched his chin extra hard to illustrate his point.

“Near the maintenance sheds?”

“…Yes.” Loki dropped his hand to the ground and quickly put a concerned look on. “Oh my, Kody are you alright?”

The shorter male scowled at him. “I’m fine. I just… I’m fine.” He tried to walk away but Loki fell into line beside him.

“Have you considered what I said the last time we spoke?” The artist prodded.

“Yeah… I might have.”

“And?”

Kody stopped walking, looking around to make sure nobody was close by. “Look, I know you’re just trying to help for whatever reason, but you don’t wanna be my friend, okay? Trust me, you’ll be better off.”

Loki couldn’t help but wonder if the other male was angry at himself rather than any particular person. “What makes you say that?”

“Just leave me alone, okay? I’m trying to save the friends I still have left, I don’t need another one to worry about.” He set off once more, and this time he went alone.

Standing in the middle of the court, watching the confused male go, Loki felt guilt rise in the aft of his mind. Here he was, basking in his own joy, when other people were still dealing with their own problems. Happiness could never be all-encompassing, not in a world with so many complex lives.

As he trudged his way to Thor’s class room, he couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened by that depressing thought.

What good is it to be happy if somebody else isn’t?

The blonde heartthrob stepped out of the room amongst a flow of other students and yawned for a few seconds. His eyes scanned the surroundings with bored disinterest until they lighted upon Loki. Immediately, Thor’s mood perked up and he started to smile as he walked over.

“Hey roomie! Man, am I happy to see you!” he said cheerfully.

Loki just smiled. That was the answer to his sad question.

It was good to be happy because he could spread it around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why can’t I hold all these side plots?!
> 
> It's been a little over a week since I've submitted any chapters, and with March Break ending today, I figured it would be a good time to stop the hiatus and create a new chapter. :)
> 
> You readers are crazy-awesome. Fan stuff is always welcome!
> 
> Also, I just realized I haven’t thanked my prereaders at all yet! Truly, I am a monster. So, in no particular order, I want to thank Adam and Chad. :)
> 
> All of these people are currently or have at some point pre-read chapters before they were posted. Thank you all! Without you, I would never find the courage to post anything and would spend all of my days searching for flaws that might just exist in my head.
> 
> Your support is invaluable, and I truly appreciate it.


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